After CJP, Opposition calls for protest, march to Supreme Court to demand action against SIR
Opposition parties have urged people to join their next round of protests on Monday that will include an unprecedented march to the Supreme Court after security forces turned central Delhi into a fortress and clamped down on thousands of protesters to stop a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led movement demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
INDIA bloc leaders said they will urge the apex court to expedite cases related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the Election Commission (EC).
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said, “We appeal to every Indian concerned about the survival of Indian democracy to join us in a massive protest march in Delhi on Monday - against the nationwide Vote Chori orchestrated by the Modi-Shah regime.”
Venugopal, one of the key strategists behind the Opposition’s protest plans, added, “INDIA MPs, leaders, workers and all concerned citizens will be holding a huge protest march against Gyanesh & Co, and a delegation of our senior leaders will submit a memorandum to the Hon’ble CJI for his intervention in this crisis.”
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“In the history of the country, no political delegation has ever marched to the Supreme Court. It will be unprecedented,” said another senior leader, requesting anonymity.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government of turning the “mother of democracy” into a “muzzled democracy”, while Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi challenged the PM saying, “We are surrounding you, and we are not going to back down.”
Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the country’s youth had awakened and demanded Kumar’s resignation. Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee said protests would continue in Delhi.
Kharge, who chaired the INDIA bloc meeting that finalised the protest plan, said the government was detaining people questioning its actions. “Our youth, students, lawyers, journalists, social activists, farm union leaders, YouTubers, content creators, everyone who is questioning this regime are being detained. The Modi Govt has turned the ‘Mother of Democracy’ into a ‘Muzzled Democracy’! The cowardice of the BJP-RSS is on full display today,” he posted on X.
He said detentions, arrests, jail terms, lathis and pellets would not deter people from protesting.
“Since the days of our Freedom struggle, the youth have been at the forefront of shaping the nation’s destiny. The Congress Party, along with the united Opposition, will fight this tyrannical regime, tooth and nail. We shed our blood to win India’s freedom. We will continue to fight, with every ounce of our strength, to defend our Democracy, our Constitution and the fundamental rights of every Indian,” Kharge added.
Gandhi accused ruling establishment of trying to suppress the Opposition’s movement and said it would not back down despite the deployment of security personnel and detentions.
“The core characteristic of these people is cowardice. Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Mohan Bhagwat, Gyanesh Kumar and Ajit Doval, the villains of this story, are slowly finding the space closing around them. We are closing that space. Mr. Modi, do whatever you want. Call out all the police: 10,000, 20,000, 50,000... Arrest all the leaders. Arrest all the young people. Arrest us all. We are surrounding you, and we are not going to back down. Mark my words: we already have the information we need,” he said.
Gandhi said the Opposition would continue to defend the Constitution and protect people’s voices, urging young people to continue protesting.
Banerjee was detained in a police van and taken to Dwarka after she sat on a silent protest on South Avenue, outside the residence of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee. She said she had wanted to go to Jantar Mantar to express solidarity with the protesting youth but was not allowed to do so. “We were not allowed, so we were peacefully sitting outside Abhishek’s house. I had a poster. The police didn’t allow it and put us in a prison van. Are we murderers and criminals that we have been put in a prison van?” she said.
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Banerjee said Gandhi had asked her to remain in Delhi for Monday’s protests. “We will participate to support students and youth. We will continue to raise our voice,” she added. CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby said on X that Keralam Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan and several others were “confined to police vehicles for hours” and “denied food and water and were not even allowed to take essential medications.”
In Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said political parties across the country had questioned the EC’s functioning and demanded that Kumar resign. “As a constitutional body, its duty is to deliver impartial verdicts and uphold its credibility within the democratic framework..If there is any conspiracy or plot behind the Election Commissioner’s actions, it is being orchestrated by the BJP,” he said.
On Friday, a 10-member Opposition delegation met President Droupadi Murmu and submitted a memorandum seeking Kumar’s resignation, the repeal of the 2023 law granting immunity to the CEC and election commissioners and an immediate halt to the SIR.
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