New Delhi, Oct 6: Holding Tricolours and banners reading ‘Save democracy’, the INDIA bloc MPs on Tuesday commenced their protest march from Parliament to the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) headquarters in the National Capital, demanding Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar resignation.

The Opposition leaders raised slogans against the CEC, BJP and the RSS as they marched towards the ECI headquarters.

The DMK and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) did not participate in the Opposition’s march.

In view of the protest, Delhi Police and other security forces had been placed on alert. Barricades were also set up outside the ECI office.

Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, along with several other INDIA bloc leaders, staged a dharna after they were stopped from heading towards the ECI’s office.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Akhilesh Yadav, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee and SP MP Dharmendra Yadav were also seen raising slogans as they proceeded towards the poll body’s office.

Congress MP Pawan Khera, holding a banner reading ‘Save Democracy’, told media, “This is just the beginning. This issue will go a long way.”

Speaking to media, Congress leader Ragini Nayak said, “This is the time to save democracy and protect our democratic process from the assault on the Constitution of India and vote theft.”

Police have instructed security forces to be fully prepared to deal with any situation. Necessary arrangements have been made to control the crowd and maintain law and order.

“The police’s objective is to maintain peace and order during the protest and prevent any untoward incidents,” officials said.

Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been imposed in and around Jantar Mantar. Under this, restrictions may be imposed on certain activities and gatherings in the area.

The administration has appealed to the public to follow the prescribed rules and cooperate with security arrangements.

New Delhi, Oct 6: Several lawmakers of the INDIA bloc marched towards the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday, against alleged irregularities in poll body decisions, regarding the Special Intensive Revision exercise and demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

From Congress to Trinamool Congress to Samajwadi Party to other allies of INDIA bloc, all participated in the mega demonstration against the CEC. Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Virendra Singh said that they joined the protest at the behest of party president Akhilesh Yadav.

“I do not know about the INDI Alliance, but our national president has called upon all MPs to reach Makar Dwar. We are all party workers, we have come here on the instructions of our national president,” Singh said.

All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee launched a sharp attack on the CEC during the protest.

Speaking on the INDIA bloc’s protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Banerjee said, “That vote thief Gyanesh should resign…”

Congress MP Imran Masood also demanded resignation of the CEC, alleging that Gyanesh Kumar had undermined the credibility of the Election Commission as an independent institution.

Speaking to media, Masood said, “The CEC should resign. Gyanesh Kumar has broken the trust that the Election Commission had earned as an independent and impartial institution in the country. When we demand Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, the BJP starts raising questions.”

Reacting to the decision of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) to skip the INDIA bloc’s protest against the CEC, Masood said that only those standing with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi would be visible in the ongoing political fight.

“Those who are walking hand in hand with Rahul Gandhi will be the ones seen in this fight. The rest will either be swept away in the storm or will remain on the other side and be swept away,” Masood said.

Congress MP Sukhdeo Bhagat said that INDIA bloc parties were protesting against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar.

The protest has brought the Opposition’s concerns over the electoral revision exercise and the functioning of the Election Commission into political focus. However, the participation of some Opposition parties highlighted differences over the extent of coordination among INDIA bloc constituents.

Mumbai, Oct 6: The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Tuesday launched an attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the implementation of the Special Information Revision (SIR) process.

The Thackeray camp in the party’s mouthpiece, ‘Samaana’, defended the protest rally held on Sunday in Mumbai by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and allied democratic groups. Its defence was triggered by sharp criticism from senior BJP leaders. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis dismissed the opposition rally as a desperate attempt to find political ground, while state Minister Ashish Shelar termed the protest “cheap politics” and its demands “howling”.

Strongly condemning these remarks, the Thackeray camp called the BJP’s stance an insult to the public, accusing the party of arrogance and relying on a “corrupt Election Commission” to stay in power. The mouthpiece alleged that across India, nearly 13 crore voters, including over two crore in Maharashtra alone, were arbitrarily stripped of their voting rights without prior notice or a fair hearing.

“This is the arrogance of power, and the BJP is enjoying this power by empowering thieves like Gyanesh Kumar. Lakhs of people took to the streets in Mumbai holding the Tricolour. Calling their protest “whining” is an insult to the Tricolour itself. A man like PM Modi pretends to cry every day; when one person cries like that, it is whining. But when 5 to 10 lakh people cry together out of anguish, it creates an upheaval powerful enough to overthrow tyrannical rule. Out of that ‘whining’, the wild fires of rebellion ignite,” warned the editorial.

Highlighting recent legal and administrative criticism of the SIR process, the editorial cited the observation by Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan. Justice Bhuyan observed that any arbitrary procedure depriving citizens of their right to vote violates the constitutional framework, stating that stripping a citizen’s right to vote is akin to “separating the soul from the body”. He emphasised that names of living voters cannot be deleted without due process and advance notice.

The editorial also referenced former Union Home Secretary and ex-BJP Minister R.K. Singh, who publicly declared the nationwide SIR drive unlawful. Singh noted that removing voters without proper inquiry or hearings directly violates Section 22 of the Representation of the People Act. “If an experienced administrative officer and a Supreme Court Judge both call this process arbitrary and illegal, will the BJP call their observations ‘howling’ as well?” the editorial questioned.

“So Fadnavis and company should publicly announce whether what such a capable former official says about ‘SIR’ is also ‘howling,’ it said.

The editorial reiterated the core demands of the protesters who marched through the streets of Mumbai, the immediate revocation of the SIR process, the scrapping of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), and a return to the ballot paper.

Taking a sharp personal jab at BJP leaders, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena concluded with a satirical note, suggesting that “given the rhetoric from leaders like Fadnavis and Shelar, playwrights influenced by the RSS should write a new drama titled ‘Puppies of the Jackal’.”

Warning the ruling government against brushing aside public anger, the editorial said that “when millions of citizens unite against injustice with the national flag in hand, it sparks a rebellion capable of dethroning authoritarian regimes”.