By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Rahul Gandhi along with thousands of opposition leaders and workers on Monday led a protest march towards the Supreme Court in New Delhi, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi and several other Opposition leaders moved the Supreme Court on Monday, challenging alleged voter deletions and irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls, as the INDIA bloc held a ‘March for Democracy’ in Delhi over its ‘vote chori’ allegations.
The march, which demanded accountability from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, was stopped by police before the protesters could reach the Supreme Court. The Opposition has alleged that the revision process could disenfranchise eligible voters and has called for judicial scrutiny of the Election Commission’s actions.
The huge march was stopped by police on Bhagwan Das Road, around 600 metres from the Supreme Court. Opposition leaders have accused the Election Commission of conducting the voter-roll revision in a manner that could disenfranchise eligible voters and have sought judicial scrutiny of the process.
In a statement posted on Facebook after the protest, Gandhi thanked INDIA bloc leaders, Congress workers, civil society organisations and people who participated in the demonstration. He also thanked millions of people who, he said, had shown their support in their own way at 3 pm.
“Today was a very important day because we needed to show the government that the people of India are not going to be intimidated,” Gandhi said. “You cannot beat us, threaten us, frighten us. We will not accept being bullied.”
Emphasising opposition unity, Gandhi said there had been no parallel protests but a single demonstration in which all parties stood together. He said the opposition would not back down from its fight to defend the Constitution and democracy.
Gandhi also accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of bullying and questioned the absence of its members at the protest. Referring to an alleged incident involving young people two days earlier, he asked why those he accused of beating them had not come forward. His remarks were political allegations and were not independently established by the statement.
The march followed the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s decision to decline a request from Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for a meeting to discuss their concerns over electoral irregularities. The CJI reportedly cited the separation of powers and judicial propriety.
The opposition has demanded that the SIR process be halted and that Kumar resign. The Election Commission has rejected allegations of political bias and maintained that the revision is part of its mandate to ensure accurate electoral rolls.
Gandhi thanked the Congress and INDIA bloc workers for working as a team and expressed gratitude to civil society groups for their support. He described the demonstration as an effort to defend the Constitution, democratic institutions and the “idea of India”.
The dispute over electoral-roll revisions has become a major political and legal confrontation, with opposition parties pressing for greater accountability from the Election Commission.