Thousands of supporters gathered in central Delhi on Monday to march alongside opposition leaders over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. AISA president Neha Bora was among those who joined the march alongside Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi.
Visuals from Monday’s protest march to the Supreme Court show Bora walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Priyanka Gandhi, while Rahul Gandhi walks behind them, keeping protesters from crowding too closely around the two.
Other student leaders, including SFI national joint secretary Aishe Ghosh, NSUI’s Jannat Bishnoi, an executive councillor (EC) of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU), also participated in the protest. Former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president N Sai Balaji was also present.
Deep Dive
Who is Neha Bora, the student leader seen marching with Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi?
Why did student leaders join the INDIA bloc’s march against CEC Gyanesh Kumar?
What did the Opposition seek in its petition to the Supreme Court on SIR?
A senior Congress leader said bringing students on board was a calculated move to broaden the Opposition’s base in the protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. The protesters are seeking Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, HT earlier reported.
{{/usCountry}}A senior Congress leader said bringing students on board was a calculated move to broaden the Opposition’s base in the protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. The protesters are seeking Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, HT earlier reported.
{{/usCountry}}Rahul Gandhi compared the protests with “Shiva tandava”. He said all the ongoing protests are one and did not acknowledge the efforts of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
“All protests are one protest. There are no parallel protests. We don’t care who you are,” he said, as he dubbed the CJP’s efforts as “students tried to protest.”
Protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar
The Opposition on Monday marched to the Supreme Court to submit a petition against “vote chori” as protests against CEC Kumar intensified and entered their second week.
The petition raises concerns over the “unilateral and arbitrary exercise” of the election body's collective powers by CEC Gyanesh Kumar during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the integrity of the electoral process, and the alleged infringement of eligible citizens’ constitutional right to register as voters and exercise their right to vote.
The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) is separately protesting and demanding Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities. The outfit had called for a march at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on October 10, but its leaders were detained at the Delhi airport upon arriving. Several other protesters were also detained by Delhi Police.
CJP leaders Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde were detained by Delhi Police on Tuesday morning while attempting to enter Jantar Mantar.
Members of a student organisation marched from Connaught Place on Tuesday, demanding the immediate release of the detained CJP leaders and opposing the de-notification of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site.
Jantar Mantar denotified as protest site
Jantar Mantar was de-notified as a designated protest venue on Monday, according to a Delhi Police circular that also listed three new sites across the city for holding demonstrations.
The three new designated protest sites are: Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground, and CBD Ground, in Shahdara.
According to the circular, the Ministry of Home Affairs had constituted a committee to examine alternative proper venues for citizen's right for organizing protest/demonstrations in place of the existing "designated site".