Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav walked out of the parliamentary complex at 10:30 am, joining a column of roughly 150 MPs heading toward the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters. The march, branded a 'Save Democracy' initiative, targets the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. It’s not just a symbolic gesture; it’s a direct challenge to the poll body’s integrity regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
The core grievance stems from an Indian Express report alleging Kumar acted unilaterally, ignoring dissent from Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. According to the report, Sandhu and Joshi raised concerns 14 times over the deletion of names from electoral rolls, questioning the decision-making process. The ECI dismissed these claims, stating that differences in views are routine in any institution. But for the INDIA bloc, the deletion of millions of names is a threat to the franchise, not a procedural hiccup.
Security around the ECI headquarters tightened significantly as the crowd approached. Police deployed a heavy cordon to manage the influx of protesters and onlookers. Notably, the protest is not a unified front for all opposition parties. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh clarified that AAP will not join this specific march. “As far as tomorrow's protest is concerned, it is the INDIA bloc's protest,” Singh said. “We are fighting this battle in our own way.” Similarly, the DMK and Biju Janata Dal have stayed out of the October 6 rally.
This march is the centerpiece of a week-long agitation announced by Kharge on September 30. The INDIA bloc has scheduled 'Save Democracy' marches in districts across the country from October 2 to October 8. The political temperature in New Delhi remains high, with social groups and student unions also planning demonstrations. The ECI has yet to issue a substantive response to the personal attack on Kumar, leaving the confrontation unresolved.
The immediate aftermath will dictate the next phase of the standoff. If the ECI refuses to initiate an inquiry into Kumar’s conduct, the INDIA bloc has signaled continued agitation. The Supreme Court could soon see petitions filed by opposition parties seeking judicial intervention in the electoral roll revision process. For now, the focus remains on the ECI gates, where the protest concluded without any official meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner.