INDIA bloc leaders protest in New Delhi over electoral rolls issue

Top leaders of the INDIA opposition bloc staged a high-voltage protest in New Delhi, marching from Parliament towards the Election Commission of India (ECI) office to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral rolls issue.

Security forces, including the Rapid Action Force (RAF), police, and disaster response teams, were deployed in heavy numbers around the Akashvani Bhavan area. Authorities imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. Police detained several National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and Indian Youth Congress workers after some individuals attempted to enter the Akashvani Bhavan premises.

Opposition MPs were halted by heavy police barricades placed just meters away from the election office. While several INDIA bloc MPs and leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were briefly detained by police, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi continued their sit-in protest near Akashvani Bhavan.

Addressing the demonstrators, Rahul Gandhi accused the ruling leadership and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of subverting democracy through vote tampering. He asserted that the opposition would not merely contest the BJP but completely dismantle it. Several other opposition figures, including RJD MP Manoj Jha and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant, raised slogans against the poll panel and demanded accountability.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party strongly condemned the opposition’s actions and assertions. BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad accused Rahul Gandhi of encouraging anarchy in a sensitive zone and undermining constitutional bodies, including the Supreme Court, the armed forces, and the Election Commission. Prasad defended the SIR process, noting that the Supreme Court had previously validated the procedure on May 26, and argued that the opposition was attempting to undermine public faith in independent institutions. BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also criticized the protest, questioning the opposition’s intent regarding voter list revisions.