New Delhi, India – Opposition INDIA bloc MPs on Tuesday are expected to go ahead with a planned protest march from the Parliament to the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters in New Delhi in protest of alleged “vote theft” and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. This comes amid a series of nationwide campaigns against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.Security arrangements have been significantly stepped up around Vijay Chowk in the national capital, with Delhi Police setting up multiple layers of barricades to maintain law and order and prevent any untoward incidents. A heavy presence of RAF (Rapid Action Force) personnel was seen around Akashvani and the ECI headquarters area. The INDIA bloc leaders are also expected to meet President Droupadi Murmu to raise concerns over the SIR exercise. The protest call was issued after a meeting of 19 opposition parties on September 30.
The principal Opposition party is also likely to reach out to other parties outside the INDIA bloc, like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Aam Aadmi Party, and invite them to join the planned protest march.Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who arrived in Delhi ahead of the march, said complaints against the Election Commission are not being raised for the first time. “The Election Commission seems to believe that only those people who are members of the Bharatiya Janata Party are Indian citizens. On several occasions, it appears that the Election Commission also believes that only those who are members of the BJP are entitled to vote,” he said.
“People used to say that the BJP functions like an election machine and does not win elections merely through the electoral process. It has a lot of money. In Bengal, we saw how booths were captured through the use of force. And this did not happen only in Bengal. Before that, it happened in Uttar Pradesh,” Yadav added.Delhi Traffic Police issued a traffic advisory in view of the planned march, with traffic to be regulated or diverted from 8 a.m. onwards at and around several key areas of the New Delhi district. Movement is likely to be affected around Connaught Place, Patel Chowk, Parliament Street, Patel Chowk-GPO, Windsor Place-GPO, Ashoka Road, Jantar Mantar Road, and adjoining areas due to barricading and traffic diversions.
Commuters have been advised to plan their journeys, allow extra travel time, and prefer Metro or public transport wherever feasible.The development comes after the Supreme Court on Monday distanced itself from the controversial alterations made to Form 6 for registering new voters during the SIR, shifting scrutiny to the Election Commission. The court also issued notice to the ECI and the Centre on a plea challenging decisions taken by the CEC-led poll panel, seeking responses on allegations of unilateral decision-making and immunity concerns in India’s election governance.
