Rahul Gandhi is leading an Opposition march to the Supreme Court today, October 12. His demands: an end to alleged “vote chori”, a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls, and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. The march follows two days of protests, detentions and a court order saying peaceful protesters must not be detained.
What “SIR” and “vote chori” mean
SIR stands for Special Intensive Revision. It’s a special drive by the Election Commission to check the voter list and cut names that don’t belong there — dead people, people who moved away, duplicates. The Opposition says real voters’ names are being cut wrongly. That’s the “vote chori” charge: “vote theft”. These are the Opposition’s allegations. Rahul Gandhi also wants EVMs removed and has called on citizens to join the march “as citizens”, no matter which party they support, according to the Times of India.
The CJI said no to a meeting
On Sunday, Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked Chief Justice of India Surya Kant for a meeting today, to hand over a memorandum on the vote-theft allegations. The CJI declined. According to ETV Bharat and The Statesman, his reason was simple: the matter is already before the court, so the leaders should file a petition instead of asking for a meeting.
The refusal hasn’t stopped the march. Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said the party respected the decision but stayed committed to the protest: “This is not only an agitation, but it has become a movement. This movement is to protect the democratic values and principles of this country,” he said, according to The Statesman.
What the Opposition wants to hand over is a memorandum with four demands, ABP News reported: an end to alleged vote theft, scrapping of the SIR exercise, removal of electronic voting machines, and the ouster of the Chief Election Commissioner. The Statesman put the march call in its headline as “Daro mat” — don’t be afraid. The march itself, per Rahul Gandhi’s post on X reported by the Financial Express, is meant to bring together people across party lines, gender, caste, community and state boundaries. Whether the CJI’s office receives it at all is now the day’s open question.
Delhi on high alert today
Security in central Delhi is back to the levels of October 10. The Delhi Metro has closed entry and exit at six stations from 6 am to 4 pm — Patel Chowk, Janpath, Rajiv Chowk, Mandi House, Central Secretariat and Barakhamba Road — though interchange at these stations still works, the DMRC said. Delhi Police have issued a traffic advisory with diversions at key stretches, and RAF and CRPF personnel are deployed alongside police near Mandi House and Barakhamba Road, per the Times of India live blog.
One thing that eased: mobile internet, which was cut on Saturday, was restored on Sunday, The Hindu reported. Footfall in Connaught Place stayed low anyway — people are staying away from central Delhi even in the festive season.
The court fights so far
This didn’t start today. On October 9, the Supreme Court told authorities not to cause hardship to ordinary commuters through blanket transport shutdowns. On October 10, the Cockroach Janta Party’s protest still brought mass detentions and a near-total shutdown — after the court’s order, the DMRC cut the number of closed stations from 45, the Indian Express reported. Two petitions followed: a habeas corpus plea by senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy against the detentions, and a contempt plea alleging the transport shutdown violated the October 9 order.
At a rare Sunday hearing, a Bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana ordered that there shall be no detention of peaceful protesters, that metro and rail services must run normally, and that internet “shall remain undisturbed”, The Tribune reported. (We covered that hearing in detail here.)
And yet, on that same Sunday, around a dozen journalists were detained while covering the protests, The Hindu reported. Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas and student leader Neha were allegedly injured while being detained; Delhi Police denied the beatings and said protesters were “adamant and not cooperating”, The Hindu noted. Women protesters were detained near Gate 7 of Rajiv Chowk Metro station, per the Financial Express. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke alleged police denied him a phone call after he was told of his grandmother’s death in custody — his allegation, reported by the Financial Express.
The pattern worth noticing
This is the third straight day central Delhi has been shut down in parts. October 10 saw the biggest closure, with nearly the whole network affected. October 11 brought curbs again. Today it’s six named stations plus barricades. Each day, the shutdown comes after a court order saying it shouldn’t. That’s now the backdrop for the contempt plea still before the court — filed against the Union Home Secretary, the Delhi Police Commissioner and the DMRC chairperson.
The march is on despite the CJI’s refusal to meet. Whether it reaches the court’s gates, and whether any memorandum gets received at all, will decide the day. The six metro stations reopen at 4 pm.
Pingback: Rahul Gandhi's Petition: 14 Defects Flagged, Explained Simply - India Presents
Pingback: 2 FIRs Filed Over INDIA Bloc's March to the Supreme Court - India Presents