High drama unfolded on Parliament Street on Tuesday as Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi climbed atop a police barricade and waved the Tricolour after security forces halted a major INDIA bloc demonstration marching toward the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters.
Posting directly on social media platform X, Gandhi addressed Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, stating: “Gyanesh it’s done bro. Time to resign.”
March Blocked Near NITI Aayog; MPs Sit on Dharna
The protest march began from Parliament’s Makar Dwar, with senior opposition leaders—including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee, and CPI(M)’s John Brittas—heading towards Nirvachan Sadan.
However, security personnel stopped the marchers near the NITI Aayog office between Parliament Street and Akashvani Bhavan:
- Demonstrators carried cutouts depicting the CEC in an RSS uniform, raising slogans including “BJP hai CEC hai”, “Vote chor, gaddi chhod”, and “Democracy not for sale.”
- Prevented from proceeding further, opposition MPs sat down on the road to stage an impromptu dharna.
- Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut criticized the heavy deployment of BSF and CISF forces, questioning why peaceful, unarmed lawmakers were being blocked.
Supreme Court Remarks Fuel Protests
The march comes on the heels of observations made by the Supreme Court regarding Form 6—the statutory application used for voter enrolment during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The apex court clarified that it had not approved any modified version of the form, directly contradicting an earlier statement by the poll panel claiming its processes had been ratified.
Opposition leaders have alleged that the additional declarations introduced during the SIR exercise eroded public trust in the electoral process, prompting call-outs and nationwide agitation.
