Opposition leaders and supporters gathered at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan for the ‘Chalo Delhi’ march to protest against alleged electoral irregularities and the Special Intensive Revision exercise, demanding the Chief Election Commissioner’s resignation.
Opposition Gathers for Chalo Delhi Protest
Opposition leaders and thousands of supporters from across the country gathered at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Sunday for the INDIA bloc’s ‘Chalo Delhi’ protest march, raising concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and alleged irregularities in electoral rolls.
During the rally, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor called on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign, saying that people had lost faith in him. Speaking to ANI, Tharoor said, “It looks like the voice of the people has been aroused, and it is time for Gyanesh Kumar to hear the voice of the people. If he has got an ounce of moral conscience, he should see that people have lost faith in him and he should quit.”
Leaders Call for a People’s Revolution
Congress MP Randeep Surjewala described the gathering as the beginning of a people’s revolution and accused the government of attacking the Constitution and allowing alleged electoral irregularities. He added that the message raised at Ramlila Maidan under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders would resonate across the country. “A people’s revolution has begun in the country. The throne of the ’emperor’ is shaking, and the people of this nation are sending a clear message: neither will attacks on the Constitution be tolerated, nor will the theft of votes. This clarion call—raised from Ramlila Maidan under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and the entire opposition—will resonate across every corner of the country,” Surjewala said.
Congress leader Kumari Selja claimed that hundreds of thousands of people had assembled at the venue to oppose the BJP government and the functioning of the Chief Election Commissioner. She said the INDIA bloc leaders and supporters had taken a pledge not to allow the prevailing situation to continue and asserted that the people had made their decision to bring down the government. “A massive sea of hundreds of thousands of people has gathered today at the Ramlila Maidan. Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, the entire INDIA bloc—all its leaders and hundreds of thousands of supporters—have taken a solemn pledge today: we will not allow the state of affairs that the BJP and the Chief Election Commissioner have brought about in this country to continue. We will topple this government; the people have made their decision,” she said.
Protest Against Electoral Irregularities
Senior Advocate and Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the rally conveyed a message of public anger and discontent. “This is a message. A message of outrage, of discontent. It is a message that the Constitution is not anyone’s plaything,” Singhvi said.
The protest march began at the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction before proceeding towards Ramlila Maidan, where opposition leaders and supporters assembled to raise their concerns over the SIR exercise and alleged discrepancies in electoral rolls. The mega rally comes a day after a public ‘impeachment’ programme against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was held in the national capital on Saturday. (ANI)
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