INDIA Bloc mega rally today: Steps underway to bring 10 lakh people; Centre deploys security forces

New Delhi: The INDIA opposition bloc will hold a massive rally on Sunday demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The march is scheduled to commence at 12 pm from Connaught Place and culminate in a public meeting at Ramlila Maidan.

Thousands of leaders and party workers, including delegations from Kerala, arrived in the national capital on Saturday. Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal stated that arrangements are being made to mobilize one million participants. Ground preparations, including laying cloth over rain-soaked soil, are currently underway, while the Union Government has deployed central security forces across Delhi.

CPM Rajya Sabha leader John Brittas announced that 18,000 members from his party will attend, while CPI Rajya Sabha leader P Santhosh Kumar confirmed the participation of 15,000 workers.

Gyanesh will have to step down: Rahul Gandhi

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, asserted that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who allegedly colluded to undermine elections, will not be able to remain in his post for long.

Speaking at the INDIA bloc’s “Public Impeachment” event, Gandhi said, 

“The people here are telling the Gyanesh Kumars of this world: you are hiding behind the very institution you swore to protect. You cannot hide behind that institution forever. Sooner or later, you will have to face the people's representatives. Modi and Shah may be in power; we will deal with them. You are their tool, which is why our primary target is you. We will neither forgive nor forget what you have done, because this is a direct attack on the voice of the people. This is not a matter of minor corruption or a small fraud. I am not pessimistic about this.”

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge accused Gyanesh Kumar of undermining the constitutional foundation by acting on the directives of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Presenting a resolution at the event, Kharge remarked, “The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) procedures, tested in Bihar and rolled out nationwide, are designed not to add voters, but to disenfranchise opposition supporters. We have no objection to removing deceased voters from the rolls, but the administration must provide precise data on how many names are being deleted. Blaming infiltrators to conceal errors must stop.”

The session was chaired by Meira Kumar. Other prominent speakers included Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K C Venugopal, Kapil Sibal, Mahua Moitra, Yogendra Yadav, Neha Bora, E T Mohammed Basheer, N K Premachandran, John Brittas, P Santhosh Kumar, Jose K Mani and G Devarajan.