Opposition leaders and thousands of supporters gathered at Ramlila Maidan for the INDIA bloc’s Delhi Chalo rally to protest against alleged voter disenfranchisement and demand the removal of Election Commissioners.
INDIA Bloc Launches Delhi Chalo Rally
Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Sunday said thousands of Congress workers from Tamil Nadu and supporters from across the country had gathered in Delhi in response to Rahul Gandhi’s call for the INDIA bloc’s ‘Delhi Chalo’ rally, which he said was aimed at opposing alleged vote theft, protecting voting rights and upholding democracy. Speaking to ANI at the INDIA bloc rally at Ramlila Maidan, Tagore said the protest involved 19 parties of the INDIA alliance and was a historically significant struggle to protect the right to vote and demand the resignation of Election Commissioners. “On this day, answering the call of Rahul Gandhi under the name ‘Delhi Chalo’ in Delhi, thousands of Congress cadres from Tamil Nadu and hundreds of thousands of supporters from all over India have come,” he said.
Tagore said that, according to Rahul Gandhi, a person’s vote was the most important weapon in a democracy. He alleged that the government and the BJP were conspiring to take away that right and said Gandhi was leading the struggle to retrieve the votes. He further said several Congress leaders and office-bearers from Tamil Nadu had joined the rally, including state ministers S. Thangam Thennarasu and Rajesh Kumar, along with district and urban Congress committee members and state functionaries.
Allegations Against the Election Commission
Meanwhile, Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir described the INDIA bloc protest as a historic demonstration against the Election Commission of India (ECI), particularly Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and demanded his removal. Speaking to ANI, Mir alleged that Kumar had undermined democratic institutions and distorted the spirit of the Constitution. He said citizens across the country were raising their voices to demand the CEC’s removal to ensure transparent elections. “Today’s protest is a historic one—directed against the Election Commission of India and, specifically, Gyanesh Kumar, who has wreaked havoc on the nation’s democracy. He has distorted the very essence of our Constitution,” Mir said.
Concerns Over Electoral Roll Revision
He also alleged that fellow Election Commissioners had raised concerns over Kumar’s decisions, which he described as arbitrary. Mir further claimed that approximately 13 crore people had been excluded from voter lists during the last Assembly elections. Claiming that between 8 lakh and 10 lakh people had gathered at Ramlila Maidan, Mir said the protest was being supported by people across the country, including those who could not attend the rally.
Samajwadi Party MP Neeraj Maurya also raised concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the votes of more than 13 crore people had been struck off the electoral rolls. “People from across the country have gathered at Ramlila Maidan today. There is immense public outrage over SIR. Recently, the votes of more than 13 crore people were struck off the electoral rolls,” Maurya said. He said that the vote was the greatest source of strength for people in a democracy and warned that public anger would intensify if attempts to undermine this right continued. “If they persist in these actions, I believe this movement will only grow further and expand into something even larger,” he added.
Meanwhile, top opposition leaders and thousands of supporters from across the country have converged in the national capital for the INDIA bloc’s “Chalo Delhi” protest march at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday. Prominent leaders—including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Member of Parliament Priyanka Gandhi Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and senior alliance figures—left the Constitution Club to join the procession. (ANI)
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