A large Delhi protest led by INDIA bloc parties disrupted movement across central Delhi on Monday as thousands of supporters marched from the Mandi House area towards the Supreme Court, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The gathering affected roads between Connaught Place and the Supreme Court, with Barakhamba Road closed to traffic by 1.30 pm as supporters assembled. By around 5.30 pm, Bhagwan Das Road was packed with people arriving from the Mandi House side. Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed behind barricades near Tilak Lane as authorities attempted to control the movement of the crowd.
The march, organised as the INDIA bloc’s ‘Chalo Dilli-March for Democracy’, was led by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, NCP-SP leader Supriya Sule and other alliance leaders joined the procession. Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited Constitution Club to express solidarity before leaving for Kolkata.
Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other leaders travelled in a bus that approached Barakhamba Road from the Mandi House side before turning back near Statesman House. They later got off and walked with supporters. The crowd included members of student organisations, civil society groups and youth bodies, with flags of the NSUI, Youth Congress, AISA, AISF and the Samajwadi Party visible during the march.
The procession travelled only a short distance before police stopped it near Barakhamba Road. Demonstrators pushed through barricades as officers attempted to hold them back. Rahul Gandhi and several other leaders were later seen on a truck as the march continued towards Bhagwan Das Road. Supporters climbed onto parked police vehicles and buses, while officers directed the gathering towards one side of the road.
The crowd began pushing and pulling as security personnel moved in. Police officers said more than 10,000 personnel had been deployed in and around New Delhi. The truck carrying the political leaders subsequently made a U-turn as protesters began dispersing. The deployment and barricading caused restrictions on movement in a part of central Delhi that includes major government, judicial and commercial destinations.
The INDIA bloc’s demands centre on alleged irregularities in electoral roll revision and calls for greater transparency and safeguards against voter deletions. The allegations were not independently established in the report. After reaching the Supreme Court, the leaders filed a petition naming the Election Commission of India as a respondent and challenging decisions connected with the SIR process.
The petition followed Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s decision to decline a meeting sought by opposition members to submit a memorandum on alleged electoral irregularities. The Chief Justice advised them to raise their concerns through a formal petition, citing proceedings already pending before the court.
Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Devender Yadav said the movement would continue until the Chief Election Commissioner stepped down. The Supreme Court petition and the ongoing proceedings will now determine the next formal stage of the opposition’s challenge to the electoral roll revision process.
