New Delhi, Oct 6: The INDIA bloc’s march to the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters was stopped near the NITI Aayog office in New Delhi on Tuesday, after opposition MPs and leaders were prevented from proceeding towards Nirvachan Sadan.
The march began from Parliament’s Makar Dwar around 11 am, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and other INDIA bloc MPs taking part.
After security personnel halted the march near NITI Aayog, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joined other opposition leaders in a sit-in protest. Several INDIA bloc MPs also staged a dharna at Parliament Street after being stopped from moving further.
The opposition is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and has been protesting against what it alleges are irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
CPI general secretary D. Raja said the INDIA bloc had decided to march jointly to the ECI over its demand for the removal or resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner.
Protesters raised slogans against the Election Commission and the BJP-led government while displaying cutouts during the march. Some Samajwadi Party MPs climbed onto police barricades near the NITI Aayog office as the demonstration continued.
Akhilesh Yadav alleged that questions had previously been raised over the functioning of the Election Commission during several elections, referring to the 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2024 elections as well as the Chandigarh mayoral election controversy.
The Election Commission and the BJP have rejected the opposition’s allegations concerning the electoral process and voter rolls.
The march came amid heightened security across central Delhi, with barricades and additional personnel deployed along the route to the ECI headquarters.
The INDIA bloc has been conducting a wider campaign against the SIR exercise, seeking greater transparency in the revision of electoral rolls and accountability from the Election Commission.
The confrontation near NITI Aayog marked the latest development in the opposition’s ongoing protest over the SIR process and its demands concerning CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
