NEW DELHI: The national capital turned into a fortress on Saturday as thousands of Congress workers and opposition supporters marched toward the Election Commission’s office demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in voter rolls.
Police detained hundreds of protesters — reports put the number at between 700 and 1,100 in Delhi alone — as demonstrations spilled across states in what the Congress called a nationwide protest against the poll body’s conduct.
Why the opposition is angry
The trigger is a widening row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged large-scale deletions and duplications, including the controversy over Form 7 applications in Karnataka. The opposition alleges the revision exercise is being used to manipulate voter lists, a charge the Election Commission has rejected.
The Congress has also flagged what it calls a pattern of suspicious deletions in opposition strongholds, citing booth-level data compiled by its workers. Party spokespersons argue that the revision exercise, coming just months before key state elections, risks disenfranchising genuine voters under the guise of cleaning up the rolls.
Youth Congress leaders have also approached the court over the issue, escalating a political confrontation that has been building for weeks.
Dramatic scenes in Delhi
In Delhi, protesters attempted to breach barricades near the EC office and Jantar Mantar, prompting police to use water cannons. Senior leaders including Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi and AAP leader Atishi were among those detained.
Delhi Police said the detentions were preventive and that prohibitory orders were in place around key installations. Several roads in central Delhi were barricaded through the afternoon, leading to traffic snarls that stretched for hours.
Parallel demonstrations were reported from Mumbai and several other cities, while a Gen-Z-led collective calling itself the “Cockroach Janta Party” staged its own protest outside the EC headquarters.
INDIA bloc to move Supreme Court
The opposition’s INDIA bloc has announced it will move the Supreme Court challenging the legal immunity enjoyed by the Chief Election Commissioner, arguing that the shield undermines accountability.
Significantly, disquiet is not limited to the opposition — even some NDA allies have begun questioning the Commission’s functioning, piling pressure on the poll body.
Political observers say the standoff marks a new low in the opposition’s trust in the poll watchdog. With the Bihar elections approaching and the SIR exercise under judicial and political scrutiny, the confrontation between the opposition and the Election Commission shows no signs of cooling.
