INDIA bloc MPs arrived at Rajghat on Thursday to hold a sit-in protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR. Besides Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, several Congress MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Vivek Tankha, Manickam Tagore, Jyothimani, Rajeev Shukla and Deepender Hooda, are said to have participated in the protest.
Visuals of the INDIA bloc leaders heading towards Rajghat made rounds on the internet. Many of them were seen travelling by bus, while hundreds of workers reached the protest site on foot.
This demonstration marks a continued push by opposition MPs to press their demands, with leaders gathering and moving together to the historic site in a show of unity.
Today is the third day of vehement protests by opposition leaders as the alliance turns up the heat on CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the ECI over massive deletions during the SIR. Earlier today, INDIA bloc MPs gathered for lunch at Connaught Place before heading towards Rajghat for a peaceful sit-in protest.
The gathering also saw the participation of allies who were absent from Wednesday’s meeting, including the Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena UBT and NCP-SP. TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee, RJD’s Manoj Jha and Sudhakar Singh, CPI(M)’s John Brittas and CPI’s P Sandosh were also present. The meeting on the third day was joined by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy.
Congress secretary KC Venugopal revealed that the opposition had sought an appointment with President Droupadi Murmu. The first request, he said, was sent on October 2, followed by another on October 5, with the names of the INDIA bloc leaders, but no response has been received so far.
The latest protest followed Tuesday’s march from Parliament to the Election Commission. The Gandhis staged an eight-hour sit-in at Akashvani Bhavan, while Wednesday saw a confrontation near Jantar Mantar, where security personnel stopped opposition leaders.
Meanwhile, the Delhi BJP Pradesh Mahila Morcha workers moved from Andhra School on Deendayal Upadhyay Marg towards Bal Bhavan Marg for a counter-protest against the Congress at its party headquarters.