New Delhi: Around 5:30 pm, Bhagwan Das Road was packed with people streaming in from the Mandi House side. Some were perched on trees and some sat on buses, waving flags as INDIA bloc politicians passed by on a truck. A little ahead, at the end of the road, cops stood behind barricades blocking the stretch leading to Tilak Lane. As they secured the barriers with a rope, hundreds of police and paramilitary personnel advanced towards the gathering.On Monday, INDIA Bloc’s ‘Chalo Dilli-March for Democracy’, led by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, brought thousands into central Delhi, turning roads between Connaught Place and Supreme Court into a sea of supporters waving flags and shouting slogans. The alliance was demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and a halt to the SIR of electoral rolls over allegations of irregularities.The gathering had begun building hours earlier. By 1.30 pm, Barakhamba Road, which was closed to traffic, was full of opposition supporters and protesters. Some climbed onto buses and waved their flags above the crowd while waiting for Rahul and other alliance members.Around 3.30 pm, Rahul arrived with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other members of the alliance in a bus, which first approached Barakhamba Road from the Mandi House side, took a U-turn near Statesman House and headed back towards Mandi House as supporters marched in solidarity.Former West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee visited Constitution Club to express “solidarity” before leaving for Kolkata.Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav were among those present. The bus also carried K C Venugopal, Tejashwi Yadav, Supriya Sule, Dipankar Bhattacharya, Sanjay Raut, MA Baby, D Raja, DK Shivakumar, Revanth Reddy, Dharmendra Yadav, Sachin Pilot, Abhishek Singhvi, Saugata Roy, V Sivadasan and Deepender Hooda, along with Yogendra Yadav, Neha Bora and Sai Balaji.Rahul, Priyanka and Bora then got off the bus and began walking together, with thousands following. Members of student organisations and civil society groups as well as youth activists joined opposition supporters, their cheers accompanying the march towards Supreme Court.“Vote chor, gaddi chhor” echoed along the stretch. Another chant, “Ek kachori, do samosa, in teeno ka kya bharosa”, seemed to target PM Modi, home minister Amit Shah and the CEC. Some turned up wearing Batman masks, referencing a viral meme depicting Rahul as the superhero.The procession had travelled only a short distance when police stopped it. Near Barakhamba Road, demonstrators pushed through barricades as cops tried to push them back. Rahul was subsequently seen atop a truck with Akhilesh, Tejashwi, Venugopal and Sule, among others.On Bhagwan Das Road, many climbed onto a line of parked police vehicles and buses, shouting and cheering as the INDIA bloc members waved back at them. Flags of NSUI, Youth Congress, AISA, AISF and SP fluttered above the crowd.Police then began directing the supporters to one side. People started pushing and pulling as security personnel — officers said more than 10,000 personnel had been deployed in and around New Delhi — moved into the crowd.Amid this, the truck carrying the politicians took a U-turn and headed in the opposite direction, while the protesters began scattering. Later, the politicians reached Supreme Court and a petition was filed naming Election Commission of India as a respondent. The plea challenges the decisions taken related to the SIR of electoral rolls and calls for transparency and safeguards against voter deletions.The march followed CJI Surya Kant’s decision to decline a meeting sought by opposition members to submit a memorandum on alleged electoral irregularities. Citing proceedings already pending before the court, he advised them to raise their concerns through a formal petition.Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Devender Yadav said, “As long as this vote thief (CEC Kumar) does not step down, this movement will continue”. He added, “We have been fighting this battle for a long time. But BJP has been protecting the CEC as he acts at the behest of Modi and Shah to indulge in malpractices to steal elections by robbing people’s verdict. From now on, he won’t be allowed to misuse his position. He has committed anti-national and anti-people sins from which he cannot escape. He will be made to pay for his crimes through this people’s movement.”
