Around 300 INDIA bloc MPs carried out a protest march from Parliament’s Makar Dwar towards Election Commission of India office on Ashoka Road on Tuesday, seeking Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over allegations of electoral irregularities during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls following an investigation by The Indian Express.
The protest took place amid a heavy security deployment around central Delhi, with barricades erected and several roads closed as opposition parties and stepped up their campaign against the Election Commission.
Carrying a large “Save Democracy” banner, the lawmakers marched from Parliament towards the Election Commission of India headquarters. Protesters raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called for Kumar to step down.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Election Commission of acting in the government's interest and said the opposition was protesting to protect democratic institutions.
Hundreds of security personnel, including paramilitary forces, were deployed around the protest route and the Election Commission's office.
Barricades were placed at several locations, while authorities restricted traffic and advised commuters to avoid areas around the demonstration.
Television footage showed security personnel stationed outside the barricaded Election Commission premises as protesters attempted to reach the office.
Tuesday's march is part of a wider series of demonstrations that have taken place in recent days involving opposition parties, student organisations and members of the ‘Cockroach’ youth movement.
The protests come at a politically significant point in Modi's third term, following earlier youth-led demonstrations that resulted in the resignation of the education minister over allegations linked to examination paper leaks.
Delhi Police stopped the opposition march on Parliament Street, in front of the NITI Aayog office (on the stretch between NITI Aayog and Akashvani Bhavan), roughly few metres away from the ECI office.
The issue has also reached the Supreme Court.
On Monday, the court agreed to hear arguments seeking judicial intervention in the allegations surrounding the Election Commission's voter verification exercise and the conduct of the Chief Election Commissioner.
During the hearing, the petitioners alleged that the poll panel had acted with bias. The court indicated that it would examine whether any decisions were contrary to law.
The legal proceedings are expected to provide another avenue for scrutiny of the Election Commission's actions as political protests over the voter roll revision continue.
