Leaders of the INDIA alliance held a symbolic satyagraha at Delhi’s Rajghat memorial for a third day and demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The bloc said it would continue its demonstrations on Friday amid a dispute over revisions to voter lists.
On Thursday, October 8, opposition politicians laid flowers at the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. After two days of clashes with police, they were allowed to hold a peaceful protest there. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the participants had prayed for the government to show wisdom, stop alleged “vote theft,” remove the election chief and protect citizens’ right to vote.
Rahul Gandhi, the opposition leader in the lower house of Parliament, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Kumar of trying to “hijack” the country through alleged vote manipulation. These are opposition allegations. India’s government and Election Commission deny wrongdoing in the voter-list revision.
The INDIA bloc said it would continue its protest on Friday and might march to Rashtrapati Bhavan after gathering at Parliament House. President Droupadi Murmu had not yet scheduled a meeting with the delegation at the time of publication, so the march remained a possibility. Other party leaders, including Mamata Banerjee, could join.
Kharge had earlier hosted opposition lawmakers for lunch at Moets restaurant in Delhi’s Connaught Place. Representatives of several alliance parties attended. The politicians later travelled to Rajghat by bus. Congress general secretary K. C. Venugopal called the protest a message to the authorities and said democracy in the country was under threat.