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Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at Rajghat during the INDIA bloc’s Day 3 protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar. (Img: X)
New Delhi: The INDIA bloc’s three-day confrontation over Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar culminated in a peaceful sit-in at Rajghat on Thursday, with Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Opposition leaders paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi before staging a protest.
The day saw a fresh show of Opposition unity, heightened security and strong political attacks over alleged irregularities in the electoral process and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), with leaders reiterating their demand for action against the CEC.
After two days of marches, police intervention and detentions in Delhi, the Opposition shifted its protest to Rajghat on Thursday. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hosted another lunch meeting for INDIA bloc leaders at Connaught Place, after which Opposition MPs and leaders boarded buses for Rajghat. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Kharge and several leaders from allied parties joined the mobilisation.
The protest marked the third consecutive day of the Opposition’s campaign demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over allegations concerning electoral-roll revisions and the wider dispute over what Opposition parties describe as “vote theft”.
At Rajghat, Opposition leaders paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and then held a peaceful sit-in. The choice of Rajghat gave the protest a symbolic dimension, with Congress leaders repeatedly invoking Gandhi, the Constitution and the right to vote while arguing that their campaign was aimed at protecting democratic institutions. The Opposition maintained that the protest was peaceful and intended to draw attention to what it describes as serious concerns surrounding the electoral process.
As the protest concluded, Congress leaders reiterated that their agitation would continue. Congress MP Praniti Shinde said the agitation would continue until Gyanesh Kumar resigns, while Congress MP Pramod Tiwari called for the CEC’s resignation and demanded that the SIR exercise be scrapped.
Some Opposition leaders also raised the demand for elections through ballot paper, adding another contentious issue to the ongoing political confrontation. These remain the Opposition’s political demands and allegations.
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy used the Rajghat protest to argue that the issue goes beyond the Congress and INDIA bloc, framing it as a larger debate over voting rights.
Reddy alleged that changes to electoral rolls could affect citizens’ ability to exercise their franchise and demanded the rollback of SIR along with action against the CEC. His remarks added a sharper political edge to the protest, as Opposition leaders sought to portray the electoral-roll controversy as a national democratic issue.
Congress leader Pawan Khera described the Rajghat gathering as a peaceful demonstration and said Opposition leaders had come to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and pray for the protection of every voter’s right. The Congress sought to contrast the Rajghat sit-in with the confrontations and detentions that had marked the previous two days of protests in the national capital.
Thursday’s Rajghat demonstration followed two days of high-profile street protests. The Opposition’s campaign has included marches, road blockades, police barricades and detentions as INDIA bloc parties stepped up their demand for action against CEC yanesh Kumar.
The repeated confrontations have transformed the electoral-roll dispute into a broader political showdown between the Opposition, the Election Commission and the government.
By evening, Rahul Gandhi, Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other INDIA bloc leaders had left Rajghat after concluding the sit-in. Delhi Police subsequently cleared the area as the day’s demonstration came to an end, bringing the third day of the Opposition’s Delhi campaign to a close. However, the political confrontation is far from over.
