Rahul urges citizens to join INDIA bloc march to Supreme Court ‘as Indians’, irrespective of party affiliations

A day ahead of the Opposition’s planned march to the Supreme Court on Monday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appealed to all citizens to join in “as citizens”, irrespective of their affiliations. The Opposition alliance plans to submit a memorandum to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on the issue of alleged vote chori (theft).

Mr. Gandhi, in a video statement, said they would ask the CJI to halt the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, sack Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and remove electronic voting machines (EVMs) from the electoral process.

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“Every single person who believes in democracy, who wants to stand for democracy, please come with us. [It] doesn’t matter what your affiliation is, as long as you are affiliated to the Constitution of India and you want to protect it,” he said.

United beyond party loyalties

In a post on X, Mr. Gandhi said the march to the Supreme Court would be by Indians united beyond parties, gender, caste, community and State. Referring to Saturday’s protests, called by several youth organisations, including the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), the Opposition leader said the nation’s youth had come out in Delhi to protest peacefully but were “beaten”, both by “BJP goons and the police”.

“This is not the India we want,” Mr. Gandhi said, adding, “Come with us and there is nothing to fear. These cowards can do nothing to us.”

‘Undeclared emergency’

Earlier, party president Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters in Bengaluru that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Home Minister had imposed an “undeclared emergency”. Opposition leaders had requested an appointment with the CJI between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m on Monday, he said..

“With folded hands, we will apprise [the CJI] of the situation. Chaos is being created in the country by the Home Minister and the Prime Minister, and an undeclared emergency has been imposed everywhere,” Mr. Kharge said.

The details of Monday’s protest plans are not yet public, but Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal is coordinating with other Opposition parties of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), as well as the party’s own State units.

‘Torture chamber’

In an unusually sharp social media post, Mr. Venugopal accused the Delhi Police of turning Delhi into a “torture chamber where innocent citizens exercising their fundamental rights are being chased, thrashed and detained”.

“All this, while vigilante groups aligned with the ruling regime are given a free hand to assault protesters — under full police protection. Modi-Shah are criminal-minded dictators who have decided to go to any lengths to save their regime from collapsing,” Mr. Venugopal said in a post on X.

“They know their Vote Chori is out in the open and the public has completely turned against them. They should know very well that the youth of India are not cowards like them. No amount of brutality will deter their will to resist this regime. We, the people of India, will succeed,” he added.

In a video statement, Mr. Venugopal emphasised that Monday’s march was not a political one, but was meant to “protect people’s basic right to vote”.

Though the Congress was formally not part of Saturday and Sunday’s protests, several INDIA bloc leaders, including Mamata Banerjee and Pinarayi Vijayan, took part and were detained. The Congress, on the other hand, had been protesting in the capital for four days, beginning October 6, as part of the INDIA bloc.