Congress could reiterate request for meeting with CJI today

NEW DELHI: Congress, which had planned a march to Supreme Court for a meeting with CJI Surya Kant on the SIR-CEC issue Monday, could be forced to engineer another protest programme, with the CJI turning down its request for appointment late Sunday.The Congress brass could reiterate its request for a meeting Monday.Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had posted on X that a meeting was scheduled, leading many in the opposition, including legal eagles, to express surprise, saying it would be a first-of-its-kind meet, if it happened.Rahul Gandhi cancelled a campaign event in Goa and returned home after "chhatron ki goonj" in Chennai to oversee the preparations for a massive protest that Congress has planned.

He issued a general appeal to citizens, opposition parties and civil society to join the march to SC, saying Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Ajit Doval and Mohan Bhagwat could not "silence India's voice".Rahul said on X that the "March for Democracy - Dilli Chalo" will start from Barakhambha Road, and has asked people to assemble there.

Slamming the police crackdown on protests, Kharge said what is happening in the capital under the Modi govt did not happen during the Emergency.

"We will apprise the CJI of the situation. We cannot demand anything from him, but we will place our concerns before him with folded hands and request his intervention," he had said, adding that he and Rahul have written to CJI.Sources had said the letter to the CJI detailed the key points of the memorandum to be submitted to him, as well as the police crackdown and harassment of protesters by vigilantes.AICC general secretary KC Venugopal asked party workers from all states to converge in the capital for the mega surge. State presidents, including Rao Narender of Haryana, Ganesh Godiyal of Uttarakhand and Govind Dotasara of Rajasthan, issued instructions to party workers to leave for Delhi in large numbers - an indication of the kind of mobilisation the opposition party has set rolling.