Anti-CEC protests spread beyond Delhi as Congress marches to Supreme Court

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday led the INDIA bloc's march to the Supreme Court demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, as protests against the poll chief were also reported in Kolkata and Karnataka.
In Delhi, joined by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and other opposition leaders, Gandhi marched with thousands of supporters towards the apex court.They raised concerns over alleged “vote chori” and the deletion of voters' names.
The Opposition had initially sought a meeting with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant to submit a memorandum, but he declined and asked the leaders to follow the established legal process.
After Gandhi could not reach the court before the 4.30 pm deadline, lawyer S Prasanna filed a petition on behalf of him and 10 other INDIA bloc leaders, including Kharge, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Sanjay Raut and Supriya Sule. The plea challenges alleged large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the electoral roll revision exercise. The Supreme Court registry was directed to process it and rectify any defects for a possible hearing on Tuesday.
Before the march, Gandhi claimed that around 200 government officials, including those from the Enforcement Directorate, CBI and Ministry of External Affairs, were in touch with the Opposition and sharing information. He did not identify them or disclose details of the alleged communications.
Gandhi also sought to link the INDIA bloc's agitation with youth-led protests by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), saying there were no parallel protests. He accused the Centre of protecting Kumar and urged the CEC to resign and turn approver over the alleged irregularities.
The march featured a symbolic social media push, with Youth Congress workers distributing Batman masks. Gandhi posed for a photograph wearing one, which the National Students' Union of India shared online.
In Kolkata, Congress workers marched from Lalit Great Eastern Hotel to Lok Bhavan and staged a sit-in at the state party headquarters, demanding Kumar's resignation. The demonstration affected traffic on CIT Road.
In Shivamogga, Karnataka, Youth Congress activists showed black flags to Union Minister of State for Railways V Somanna, demanding Kumar's dismissal and action over the SIR exercise.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra BJP accused Congress leaders of threatening Youth Congress workers to ensure their participation in the Delhi protest, citing a purported audio clip. The Congress rejected the allegation, with senior leader Vijay Wadettiwar saying the BJP was afraid of losing power.
The protests follow days of demonstrations in Delhi, where police stopped a planned CJP march and detained thousands of supporters, according to reports.