INDIA bloc rally Live Updates: Over 50,000 expected to join INDIA bloc’s Ramlila Maidan protest at 10 am

INDIA bloc leaders during their symbolic public impeachment program against CEC Gyanesh Kumar at 10 Rajaji Marg, in New Delhi on Saturday. (ANI Photo)

The INDIA bloc, led by the Congress, will hold its mega rally at Ramlila Maidan against the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR of the electoral rolls following a The Indian Express report. Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has appealed to people, including students and civil society groups, to join the gathering — scheduled from 10 am to 5 pm — describing it as a movement to defend democracy and the Constitution Multiple parties have extended support for the November 1 rally and several Chief Ministers and opposition leaders are set to participate in the rally.

The Indian Youth Congress said participants would wear white clothes to resemble “ghosts”, symbolising voters who have allegedly been marked dead or removed from the electoral rolls. There will tight security and over 3,000 police officers and 10,000 paramilitary personnel will stand on guard — to not only watch over the ground, but also make sure that the crowd doesn’t move out and proceed towards Jantar Mantar. Senior officers said that they expect a footfall of around 50,000.

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The rally comes a day after the public impeachment of Kumar. Claiming that Gyanesh Kumar “will not survive as CEC”, Gandhi said the Opposition has “enough evidence to ensure that this gentleman does not continue in office”. He added: “If the BJP insists on retaining him even after we reveal [the ‘evidence’], its game will be clear for everyone to see.” Following massive protests in the first two weeks of October, Jantar Mantar was denotified as protest site and Delhi Police had picked Ramlila Maidan as one of threee agitation sites.