INDIA bloc MPs on Tuesday began a “Save Democracy” march from Parliament towards the Election Commission headquarters, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was among the leaders who took part, amid heightened security and extensive barricading around Parliament and the poll body’s office. The march did not reach its destination. Security forces stopped it near the NITI Aayog building, and leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra staged a sit-in. Several other MPs also sat on a dharna at Parliament Street after being prevented from proceeding. The MPs carried cutouts and raised slogans against the BJP government and Kumar. Congress MP Imran Masood alleged that Kumar had damaged public confidence in an institution that has traditionally enjoyed the trust of people across the country. The march comes amid an opposition campaign over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and reports of differences within the three-member Commission. The protest is part of a wider series of demonstrations planned by opposition parties over the roll revision and their demand for greater accountability from the poll body.
Because of a strong demand that the CEC should go, cPI general secretary D Raja said the bloc had decided on a joint march. The MPs gathered at Parliament’s Makar Dwar and were scheduled to set off for Nirvachan Sadan, the Election Commission’s headquarters, at 11 am. They cited the Supreme Court’s observations on changes to Form 6, the statutory application for enrolment as a voter.
Before the march began, opposition MPs questioned the security arrangements and stepped up their demand for Kumar’s resignation.
