Rahul Gandhi: India's Opposition Leaders March to Supreme Court Amid Continuing Protests
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India's opposition parties plan to march to the Supreme Court in Delhi on Monday to demand the resignation of the Election Chief, accusing him of manipulating voter rolls to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This latest protest follows a series of demonstrations in the capital, with thousands of security forces deployed and roads barricaded.
Attempts by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) pressure group to hold a weekend protest led to thousands of demonstrators being detained. The opposition alleges that under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, India's voter rolls are being tampered with. Both the Election Commission and BJP deny these charges.
Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP, called on "all opposition parties, civil society groups, and those who believe in democracy" to join the march. He shared a letter he wrote to Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, outlining their concerns about Kumar's conduct and the electoral roll revision.
Kant declined their request for a meeting, citing "certain reasons," though media reports suggest he noted that some of their issues were also pending before the court.
"Every Indian citizen has the right to approach the court, and we will hear their concerns and grant whatever is due under the law," Kant told reporters.
Gandhi and other opposition leaders have been detained several times while leading protests in central Delhi over the past week. The CJP, which successfully led a protest over the summer that resulted in a federal education minister's resignation, has vowed to continue until Kumar steps down.
Their planned march to Jantar Mantar, a prominent protest site in Delhi, was thwarted by heavy restrictions on traffic and access to key metro stations. Authorities deployed tens of thousands of police and paramilitary personnel to detain protesters.