INDIA Bloc Continues Campaign Against CEC; CJP Leaders Detained in Delhi Protests

The INDIA bloc is scheduled to continue its campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Tuesday, October 13, with a joint press conference planned for the afternoon. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has also called a gathering at his residence, located at 5, Sunehri Bagh Road, at 4 pm on the same day. These actions follow a series of protests and legal challenges by the opposition.

On Monday, several opposition leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, participated in a 'March for Democracy' towards the Supreme Court. The march aimed to protest alleged electoral fraud, voter deletions, and irregularities in the Special Information Report (SIR) process. The demonstration, which saw leaders like Rahul Gandhi among the participants, was eventually halted on Bhagwan Das Road, approximately 600 metres from the Supreme Court, prompting protesters to then camp at Mandi House.

Following the march, Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders filed a joint petition challenging specific decisions made by the Election Commission related to the SIR process. This legal move came after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant had declined to meet Rahul Gandhi the previous day, citing that the matter was sub judice. The Supreme Court Registry subsequently identified 14 defects within the petition, which included missing documents, incomplete authorisations for nine petitioners, and a blurred copy of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s identity card.

Separately, leaders of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were detained by Delhi Police early Tuesday morning after staging a protest at the Jantar Mantar area. Their demonstration occurred just a day after the site had been de-notified as a designated protest venue. The protesters reportedly had a brief confrontation with police personnel who attempted to stop them as they raised "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Inquilab Zindabad" slogans. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke confirmed that Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka, and Ajinkya Shinde, along with others, were subsequently detained and taken away.

What to watch: The INDIA bloc's joint press conference and Rahul Gandhi's gathering on Tuesday, October 13, will outline their next steps.

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