INDIA bloc’s ECI march today: Barricades up, 4,000 security personnel deployed in Delhi

New Delhi: The INDIA bloc is set to intensify its protest over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with Opposition MPs scheduled to march from Parliament to the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The march, planned for around 10.30 am to 11 am, comes amid a growing political confrontation over the poll panel's handling of the voter-list revision exercise. 

Opposition parties have alleged irregularities in the process and have demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

The Opposition has also used the term ‘vote chori’ to describe its allegations about the electoral rolls.

The Delhi Police has stepped up security across the New Delhi district ahead of the proposed march.

Around 4,000 personnel from the Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Forces have reportedly been deployed, with multi-layered barricading put up along key stretches and around the ECI headquarters.

Police said they had not granted permission for the proposed march or gathering. Prohibitory orders under Section 163 remain in force in the New Delhi district, restricting gatherings.

The heightened security comes after several days of protests around Jantar Mantar and other parts of central Delhi.

Police have registered nine FIRs over the recent protests, while 18 people have been arrested and more than 300 detained and later released, according to a report by The Indian Express. 

Traffic restrictions have also been imposed from 8 am across several parts of central Delhi.

The affected areas include Connaught Place, Patel Chowk, Parliament Street, Patel Chowk-GPO, Windsor Place-GPO, Ashoka Road and Jantar Mantar Road.

Commuters have been advised to avoid non-essential travel through these stretches and, where possible, use public transport, particularly the Metro. 

The Opposition's protest centers on the SIR exercise and allegations of changes to voter enrolment forms.

An Indian Express report had claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections on multiple occasions over SIR-related orders and directions.

The ECI, however, has rejected suggestions of differences within the three-member panel and maintained that the panel took decisions relating to SIR unanimously.

The Supreme Court's observations on Form 6 have added another dimension to the political row.

The court clarified that it had not approved modifications to the voter enrolment form, a point the Opposition has cited in its criticism of the poll panel. India Today

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), meanwhile, has decided not to participate in Tuesday's INDIA bloc march.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the party would continue its own campaign against what it describes as irregularities in the SIR process. India Today

INDIA bloc leaders are also expected to meet President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday to raise their concerns over the electoral-roll revision exercise. 

The march marks another escalation in the Opposition's campaign against the Election Commission, while the poll panel and the BJP have rejected allegations of wrongdoing.