Opposition leaders marched through Delhi and filed a joint petition concerning the Election Commission and its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, escalating a confrontation that has kept the national capital under heavy security.
According to reports, Rahul Gandhi and leaders from several opposition parties took the protest directly to the Supreme Court, seeking scrutiny of the Commission’s decisions relating to the voter-list revision exercise.
Delhi Under Tight Security
Delhi has seen continuing protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) youth movement and left-aligned student groups, with the Congress running a parallel agitation demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged discrepancies in the SIR process.
More than 30,000 police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed across the capital. Delhi Police issued a traffic advisory warning of possible disruptions at major junctions and stretches, including areas around Jantar Mantar, Mandi House and Connaught Place, while designating alternative protest venues such as Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground. Jantar Mantar has lost its designated protest-site status for the agitation, and police have detained dozens of protesters in recent days.
Both the CJP and the Congress have vowed to continue the protests until the Chief Election Commissioner is removed. The Election Commission and the government have denied any wrongdoing in the revision exercise.
Court Weighs In on Protests
The Supreme Court has said that the right to protest cannot override legal restrictions, in observations made during hearings on the capital’s protest restrictions. Reports also said the Chief Justice of India declined a meeting request from Rahul Gandhi on the voter-list issue ahead of the INDIA bloc’s march.
The dispute over the electoral roll revision has become one of the sharpest political flashpoints of the season, with the opposition framing it as a question of electoral integrity and the government rejecting the charge.
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