"Gyanesh, it's done, bro. Time to resign": INDIA Bloc MPs Stage Sit-in After March to ECI Stopped

NEW DELHI/KALINGA DARPAN

In a dramatic escalation of its campaign against alleged electoral malpractice, the INDIA bloc staged a massive protest march towards the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.  

The march, which began from the Parliament complex, saw the participation of over 300 Opposition MPs, including prominent leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Armed with placards and raising slogans such as “BJP hai CEC hai” and “Democracy not for sale,” the protesters accused the CEC of eroding public trust in the electoral process.

The Core Demands

The opposition's demands center around the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

• Resignation of the CEC: The primary demand is the immediate removal of Gyanesh Kumar.  
• Scrapping of SIR: The bloc wants the SIR process to be entirely scrapped.  
• Reinstatement of Deleted Voters: They demand that all voters whose names were removed or deleted under the SIR be restored to the voter list.  
• Return to Ballot Papers: Some leaders, like Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant, have also demanded that elections be held using ballot papers. 

High Drama on the Streets

The march was intercepted by heavy security deployment near the NITI Aayog office, barely a kilometer away from Nirvachan Sadan, the ECI headquarters. Denied further progress, the MPs, including the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, staged a sit-in protest on the road

Questioning the heavy police presence, Gandhi asked, “We represent crores of Indians. Why aren't the Election Commissioners meeting us? Why is the police stopping and threatening us?”

Taking a direct swipe at the CEC, Gandhi posted on X (formerly Twitter): "Gyanesh, it's done, bro. Time to resign," a phrase that quickly became a rallying cry for the protest. He further alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat have "hijacked the nation through 'vote chori' (vote theft)," and accused Gyanesh Kumar of assisting them.

Supreme Court Scrutiny Adds Fuel

The protest comes close on the heels of the Supreme Court's observation regarding the SIR process. On Monday, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant stated that the court had not approved any modified version of Form 6 used for voter enrollment during the SIR, issuing notices to the Centre, ECI, and CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Opposition leaders seized upon this, accusing the CEC of misleading the public about the Supreme Court's position and asserting that he has "no moral right" to continue in office.

Future Course of Action

The Congress party has announced a sustained campaign to press its demands. Jairam Ramesh stated that all INDIA alliance parties will hold district-level padyatras until October 8, block-level meetings from October 10-20, and state-level "Save votes, save the country" rallies from October 25 to November 25, culminating in a major rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on November 1.  

The ECI has previously defended the SIR exercise and rejected allegations of a split within the three-member Commission. However, with the opposition intensifying its agitation and the matter now under judicial scrutiny, the controversy surrounding the electoral rolls and the CEC is unlikely to subside soon.