A large crowd gathered on Monday for a protest march called by the INDIA bloc towards the Supreme Court, amidst widespread demonstrations in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Visuals from the demonstration highlighted the massive turnout of participating INDIA bloc MPs. Follow live updates on the Delhi protest here.
Deep Dive
Why did the INDIA bloc march to the Supreme Court against CEC Gyanesh Kumar?
Which leaders and groups joined the INDIA bloc protest march?
What did the INDIA bloc plan to do at the Supreme Court?
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Protest march to Supreme Court demanding CEC's resignation
The protest march, led by opposition leaders including Congress' Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, brought key stretches of the capital to a standstill, according to news agency ANI.
{{/usCountry}}The protest march, led by opposition leaders including Congress' Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, brought key stretches of the capital to a standstill, according to news agency ANI.
{{/usCountry}}In the visuals, protesters were seen waving national flags and Congress flags.
The INDIA bloc includes former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, former Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav and leaders of the CPI and CPM.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also reportedly staged a protest against the CEC.
Lok Sabha LoP Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and AISA president Neha Bora lead the march, according to news agency PTI.
On the INDIA bloc protest march, SP chief Yadav said, "The agitation and sit-in protests will continue. It is our responsibility to save democracy; the Bharatiya Janata Party, in collusion with the Election Commission, seeks to destroy the Constitution and democracy. They want to remain in power forever. They create fake voter lists, cast bogus votes, and fabricate election results."
"We will adopt whatever legal and practical methods are available. The government should listen and remove the Election Commission. The BJP must admit its mistake. The Election Commission should be removed. Merely changing the protest venue at Jantar Mantar won't solve the problem. If they want to strengthen democracy, they should create more spaces for protests," Yadav added.
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CJP's Delhi protest against CEC Kumar
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders, including Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, visited the Parliament Street Police Station on Monday to seek a date for a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar against CEC Kumar.
Speaking to reporters, Das noted, "Police tells everyone to approach them 10 days in advance. We are now saying that they have the choice to tell us the date and time (for protest at Jantar Mantar). We are giving them a 24-hour ultimatum."
(with inputs from PTI, ANI)