Opposition MPs from the INDIA bloc are set to march to the Election Commission of India headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday, October 6, over alleged irregularities in electoral roll revisions, while the Aam Aadmi Party has said it will not participate.
The march is part of the opposition alliance’s campaign over what it describes as “vote theft” and its demand for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The Election Commission has rejected allegations of wrongdoing surrounding its electoral roll revision process.
The protest was planned during a September 30 meeting involving 19 opposition parties. INDIA bloc leaders said MPs would march from Parliament to the Election Commission headquarters and also seek a meeting with the President to raise their concerns.
Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal said the march is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and called on police to allow MPs to hold a peaceful demonstration.
The protest comes amid continued opposition criticism of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of electoral rolls in several states.
The issue received further attention Monday after the Supreme Court said it had not approved modifications to Form 6 being used by the Election Commission during the revision exercise. Form 6 is used by eligible voters seeking inclusion on an electoral roll for the first time.
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien also criticized changes made in 2023 to the process for appointing the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners. He said more than 146 MPs were expected to participate in Tuesday’s demonstration.
AAP, however, said it would stay away from the INDIA bloc protest.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said his party is pursuing its own campaign against alleged problems with the electoral roll revision and views the issue as a broader public movement rather than one belonging to a particular political alliance.
AAP and the DMK did not attend the INDIA bloc’s September 30 meeting.
The Election Commission has maintained that there is no division among members of the three-person commission and has said decisions concerning the SIR were made unanimously.
However, an Indian Express investigation published last month reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on at least 14 occasions over the previous 10 months to decisions and orders concerning the revision exercise. According to the report, the commissioners said some decisions had been issued without their knowledge or recommendation and objected to certain changes to voter enrolment forms.
The September 30 opposition meeting included Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, TMC leader Mamata Banerjee, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, along with representatives from Left parties.
Other opposition leaders, including Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, participated virtually.
