NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday called on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign as INDIA bloc MPs marched from Parliament towards the Election Commission of India headquarters over alleged discrepancies in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.“Gyanesh, it’s done, bro, Time to resign,” Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X as he led the opposition MPs towards the ECI office.The march, which began from Parliament’s Makar Dwar around 11 am, was stopped by security personnel near the Niti Aayog office. Several INDIA bloc MPs subsequently sat in protest, with opposition leaders later staging a dharna at Parliament Street.Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule were among the opposition leaders participating in the march.INDIA bloc MPs stopped near Niti AayogVisuals showed Rahul Gandhi leading the march along with several INDIA bloc MPs, who were carrying placards and cutouts of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.The opposition MPs were seeking Kumar’s removal over alleged irregularities in the SIR process. The INDIA bloc had announced the march from Parliament to Nirvachan Sadan as part of its campaign against the Election Commission’s handling of the electoral roll revision.The march was met with heavy security deployment in central Delhi. Barricades were placed along the route and Rapid Action Force personnel were deployed around Transport Bhawan ahead of the protest.After being prevented from proceeding towards the ECI headquarters, several opposition MPs sat in protest near Parliament Street.AAP said it would skip the march, with the party saying it would fight the issue through its own means.Opposition steps up attack over SIRThe protest comes amid an ongoing political confrontation between the opposition and the Election Commission over the SIR exercise and alleged discrepancies in voter rolls.The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it had not approved any modified version of Form 6 used for voter enrolment during the SIR process. CJI Surya Kant said, “Any modified Form 6 has not been approved by us.”
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
The court issued notices to the Centre, ECI, CEC Gyanesh Kumar and other officials while declining to pass an ex-parte interim order suspending Kumar.Ahead of the march, several opposition leaders criticised the Election Commission’s handling of the SIR process. Congress and INDIA bloc leaders have demanded Kumar’s removal, while the BJP has rejected the opposition’s allegations.Mamata Banerjee has said the protests will continue until Kumar resigns and has also demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resignation.Congress MP Jairam Ramesh had said the march would be peaceful. The opposition has also announced district-level padyatras till October 8 and “Save votes, save the country” rallies from October 25 to November 25.
