INDIA Bloc To March To Supreme Court Against CEC, Seeks CJI’s Intervention In ‘Vote Chori’ Row

The opposition INDIA bloc will hold a protest march to the Supreme Court in Delhi on Monday and submit a memorandum to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, escalating its campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of electoral irregularities, Congress leaders said.

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal announced the protest on Saturday, urging citizens concerned about democracy to join the demonstration. On Sunday, Rahul Gandhi renewed the appeal, calling on opposition parties, civil society organisations and other groups to participate in the march on October 12.

The opposition is demanding Kumar’s resignation and has called for the repeal of Assembly election results from the past two years. It alleges widespread “vote chori” and irregularities in the electoral process. These are opposition allegations and have not been established as findings of wrongdoing.

“A delegation of our senior leaders will submit a memorandum to the Hon’ble CJI for his intervention in this crisis,” Venugopal said, reiterating the bloc’s resolve to continue its agitation.

The latest move follows a meeting between INDIA bloc leaders and President Droupadi Murmu on Friday, during which the opposition raised its allegations and sought action against the CEC. After the meeting, Gandhi said he was “shocked” that the President had not denied the charge of “election theft” and indicated that the opposition would pursue all available options.

The planned march comes after several days of demonstrations in the national capital. Opposition MPs attempted to march from Parliament to the Election Commission’s office on Tuesday but were stopped along the way. Gandhi subsequently staged an eight-hour sit-in at the Akashvani Bhawan complex. Further demonstrations followed at Jantar Mantar and Rajghat.

The controversy has intensified following a report by The Indian Express that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over the preceding 10 months, including on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.