In capital, Opposition parties march against EC in show of unity on SIR, ‘vote theft'
As placard-bearing MPs sloganeered against the government and clambered over barricades, with some fainting, police stopped the march to the EC office and detained several senior leaders.
This is the first time the INDIA bloc's parties have hit the street together, as they attempt to send a message that they stand united on the issue of 'electoral malpractices'.
The march began at Parliament's Makar Dwar with around 300 MPs from Opposition parties singing the national anthem. Wearing white caps with the crossed-out words 'SIR' and 'vote chori', they soon set off for Nirvachan Sadan on Ashoka Road, lending varied colours to the streets of Central Delhi: from the Samajwadi Party and Left parties' red to the RJD's green and the Congress's white.
The protesting MPs raised slogans against the SIR and 'vote chori'. There were signs of bonhomie and solidarity, as Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi lent a hand to TMC MP Mitali Bag as she fainted during the protest. Sanjay Singh and other leaders from the AAP, which maintains that it is not part of the INDIA bloc, also took part in the march.
Police personnel on Parliament Street announced to the MPs through loudspeakers that only 30 representatives would be allowed to go to the EC office. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, meanwhile, scaled a barricade to cheers as TMC MPs Mahua Moitra and Sushmita Dev followed.
Police detained several senior Opposition leaders — including NCP's Sharad Pawar, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Gandhi, Akhilesh and his MP wife Dimple Yadav, TMC's Derek O'Brien, Congress's Priyanka Gandhi, DMK's T R Baalu and CPI-M's John Brittas.
All the detained MPs were taken to Parliament Street police station — chaos prevailed on the buses — and released at around 2 pm.
Speaking to reporters from the window of the bus he was detained in, LoP Gandhi said: 'The reality is that they (EC) can't talk. Because the truth is in front of the country. This is not a political fight. This is a fight for the Constitution and to save it. It is a fight for one man, one vote. Hence, we want a clean voter list.'
TMC Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha Sagarika Ghose alleged police pushed women MPs and dragged them by the hair.
'Women MPs have been pushed, shoved and dragged by the hair. One woman MP has fainted. The way women MPs have been mistreated. It is the most shocking nuzzling of democracy by the Modi government,' said Ghose in a video shared on X. A distraught Moitra could be seen in the video being fanned with a placard and taking sips of water.
A detained Priyanka held up a copy of the Constitution — that had become synonymous with the Congress's campaign in last year's Lok Sabha election — and raised slogans against the government from inside the police vehicle.
At the police station, Opposition MPs continued to raise slogans against the government and the EC.
Kharge said the protest against 'vote chori' and SIR was a fight to protect people's right to vote and save democracy. 'BJP's cowardly dictatorship will not work!,' he said on X in Hindi.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said: 'Our demand from the EC was very clear. All Opposition MPs are staging a peaceful march. At the end of the march, we collectively wish to present a memorandum on SIR and other issues.'
On Sunday, the EC had said it had decided to 'give an appointment for an interaction' to 30 party representatives 'due to limitation of space'. An EC official said Ramesh had acknowledged the EC's email, but not sent any list of names.
After being released, the Opposition MPs headed back to Parliament, where both houses were functioning. In their absence, Lok Sabha passed the National Sports Governance Bill and the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill.
In Rajya Sabha, Leader of Opposition Kharge briefly tried to raise the detention of the MPs but was not allowed to.
Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament that the fight wasn't political anymore — it was for the 'soul of the country'.
'Three hundred MPs wanted to meet the ECI. They say they will come with a delegation and submit a document. The EC says no and that 300 MPs can't come. They are scared that if 300 MPs reach, then the truth will come out… In Karnataka, we have clearly shown that it is not one-man, one-vote…'
About the EC demanding a signed undertaking from him over his allegations of voter malpractices in Karnataka, Gandhi said: 'This is a bid to distract. It has happened in different constituencies, not just in Bengaluru. The EC is trying to suppress this data, but we will release it and it will explode.'
TMC Rajya Sabha leader O'Brien said he wished to convey 'four key issues' to the EC on 'SIR (vote chori)'.
'Initiate an FIR against former CEC Rajeev Kumar for manipulation of the voters' list… Going forward, implement digitisation of voters' list… No SIR should be conducted now. No bulldozing SIR in Opposition-ruled states. (If the current voters' list is full of flaws, the Union government should resign)… No political party will share BLA-2 details (profile, contact, and photo) with the EC, as these will promptly reach the BJP,' he said in a post on X.
Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express.
During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state.
During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute.
Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor.
Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More
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