INDIA bloc holds Delhi protest march over voter list issues and election chief

Protest And Security

Opposition INDIA bloc members plan to walk from Parliament to the Election Commission of India headquarters in New Delhi to protest alleged voter list flaws and demand the exit of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The Delhi Traffic Police stated that vehicles face heavy checks and diversions starting at 8 am around Connaught Place, Patel Chowk, Parliament Street, Windsor Place, Ashoka Road, and Jantar Mantar Road. Police added that no formal permission was granted for the gathering. Officials deployed around 4,000 personnel from local forces and the Central Armed Police Forces, alongside Rapid Action Force units near Akashvani and the commission office, putting multiple layers of barricades across Vijay Chowk and central Delhi.

Wider Claims

According to The Hindu, the protest call follows a September 30 meeting of 19 opposition parties and concerns over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Congress leaders also alleged that the recent West Bengal assembly elections saw mass rigging overseen by the election chief. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed on social media that judges appointed to process appeals for 27 lakh deleted electors found major gaps in the digital portal set up by the election body's IT wing.

Context

Security forces regularly enforce strict traffic checks and deploy large personnel numbers in central Delhi during major political demonstrations near government buildings. Such measures aim to prevent disruptions to public movement and maintain law and order when large groups gather without official clearance.