New Delhi: This morning the city is already tense. The INDIA bloc is set to march to the Supreme Court today, and Congress has named the whole thing ‘Chalo Delhi – March for Democracy’.
Rahul Gandhi put out a clear call yesterday. He said the youth came out peacefully on Saturday with love in their hearts, not hatred. They got beaten by police and BJP goons. “This is not the India we want,” he said. So today, Monday, October 12, the Congress, the entire INDIA alliance and the youth of the country will take to the streets again. Louder than before.
The plan is simple. Leaders and supporters will gather at the Connaught Place–Barakhamba Road junction around 1.30 pm. From there they will walk towards the Supreme Court. The idea is to submit a memorandum to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The demands are the same ones they have been raising for days: stop the alleged vote chori, halt the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, and make Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had asked for a meeting with the CJI between 4 and 5 pm today. The request was turned down. The CJI’s side said similar matters are already pending in the court. Kharge’s response was calm. We cannot demand anything, he said. We will place our concerns with folded hands and request intervention. Even after the refusal, the march is going ahead.
Mamata Banerjee is staying on in Delhi to join. Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav and other alliance leaders are expected. Congress has told all its MPs to remain in the capital. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has asked his party’s MPs, MLAs and leaders to come as well.
Delhi Metro has already shut entry and exit at six stations from 6 am to 4 pm – Patel Chowk, Janpath, Rajiv Chowk, Mandi House, Central Secretariat and Barakhamba Road. Interchange will still work, but people will feel the pinch. Traffic police have put out advisories warning of diversions and delays in central Delhi. Heavy security is visible around Connaught Place and the Supreme Court area.
This is the fifth protest in six days on the same issue. Earlier in the week opposition MPs marched from Parliament to Rashtrapati Bhavan and met the President. On Saturday and Sunday the Cockroach Janta Party and student groups tried to reach Jantar Mantar and faced large-scale detentions. The INDIA bloc is now trying to keep the pressure going through the formal political route.
Rahul Gandhi has asked people to join as Indians, not as party workers. Beyond gender, caste, community and state. He said Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and others cannot silence India’s voice. “Daro mat,” he told people. Do not be afraid. We will march with love, brotherhood and patriotism.
Police are treating it as a big security exercise. The same kind of deployment seen over the weekend is still in place. The opposition says the real issue is the right to vote and the fairness of the electoral process. The government and the Election Commission keep saying the SIR is a normal, legal exercise and that law and order has to be maintained.
By afternoon the march is expected to start from Connaught Place. Whether they manage to reach the Supreme Court gates or get stopped somewhere in between, the message from the INDIA bloc is clear. They are not backing down. The fight over the voter lists and the Chief Election Commissioner continues, and today it moves to the doors of the highest court.
Sources: The Hindu, India Today, The Week, News18, Economic Times, Indian Express, India TV, The Tribune, PTI reports.
@Rohit Manral
