INDIA Bloc Chalo Dilli March Starts From Minto Road to Ramlila Maidan

Opposition leaders began the INDIA bloc’s “Chalo Dilli” march from the Minto Road–Connaught Place junction towards Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi around noon on Sunday, 1 November, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. ANI reported that Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Farooq Abdullah, D Raja and Mehbooba Mufti were among the leaders on the move, while Delhi Police said the venue is permitted from 10 am to 5 pm.

Crowd Claims Differ by Nearly 20 Times

The INDIA bloc has said up to 10 lakh people could attend. Delhi Police has planned for about 50,000. Ramlila Maidan holds 45,000 to 50,000 people when empty and an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 once chairs, enclosures and passageways are in place, according to PTI. Special Commissioner of Police Devesh Srivastava told ANI that “everything is peaceful; people are coming.”

Delhi Police has deployed more than 4,000 personnel and paramilitary companies, over 200 CCTV cameras, drones and body-worn cameras, and divided the ground into 14 zones. Traffic curbs across central Delhi run from 10 am to 5 pm, and Section 163 orders bar gatherings at Jantar Mantar and near the Election Commission office, Telangana Today reported.

Also read EC Affidavit in Supreme Court: What It Says on SIR, CEC and Form 6

Three Demands on the Banner

Kharge has demanded Kumar’s immediate removal and the scrapping of the 2023 law on the appointment of election commissioners, Outlook reported. Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said “thirteen crore names have been deleted from electoral rolls” during the SIR; that figure is the party’s claim and was not independently verified in the reports. Rahul Gandhi also asked attendees in a video message to shop at local markets during Diwali and Chhath, saying the protest would not hurt traders.

From Kharge’s Lawns to the Maidan

The march follows Saturday’s symbolic “public impeachment” of Kumar at Kharge’s residence, presided over by former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, where a resolution listed six charges against him. IPB has set out those charges in The Six Charges Against CEC Gyanesh Kumar. The route, timings and traffic curbs are in IPB’s earlier rally explainer, and the police arrangements in this report.

None of the reports reviewed carried a response from the Election Commission. The main stage at the Maidan was set for speeches by senior leaders, with a second stage for state units; no resolution had been reported at the time of writing. A BJP counter-march is also planned in Rohtak, Haryana, the same day.

Source: Based on reporting by PTI via Business Standard, ANI, Outlook and Telangana Today.

Image: PTI / Rushikesh More.