New Delhi [India], October 12 (ANI): Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, along with other INDIA bloc leaders, has moved the Supreme Court against the Election Commission of India (ECI).
In their plea, the opposition bloc has impleaded Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, alongside the ECI. The specific grounds sought in the plea is yet to be disclosed by the petitioners.
Petitioners include Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, CPI(M) MP MA Baby, CPI leader D Raja, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Mahua Majhi, NCP (SCP) MP Supriya Sule and ET Indian Union Muslim League Mohammed Basheer.
This comes as INDIA bloc leaders arrived at the Supreme Court after their march from central Delhi. AISA president Neha Bora also participated in the march led by Rahul Gandhi.
The march was joined by prominent Opposition leaders, including Akhilesh Yadav, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Tejashwi Yadav and Supriya Sule.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "We have filed the petition in the Supreme Court".
After arriving at the apex court, Tejashwi Yadav said, "All the opposition leaders have filed petitions in the Supreme Court...We are fighting to save democracy"
D Raja said, "The Election Commission is a constitutional body. It should function as an independent, neutral, impartial body. What we are seeing today, under Mr. Gyanesh Kumar, the Election Commission has failed to uphold the constitutional mandate. Election Commission has lost its credibility. Millions of people have been removed from electoral rolls. It has created tremendous concern across the country. In the India bloc, our party, the Communist Party of India, is demanding that the Chief Election Commissioner should resign. We have filed the petition. Let us see what the Supreme Court is going to do."
Akhilesh Yadav expressed hope of justice from the Court. "We are hopeful that we will get justice from the Supreme Court," he said.
Declaring that the protest would continue until the CEC resigns, Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal declared, "This is only the beginning."
Akhilesh Yadav said that Democracy will "survive only when the BJP is removed from power".
Neha Bora said that people have not forgotten democracy, targeting the restrictions in view of protests.
"This is exactly what democracy looks like. Do you think that by blocking roads, closing metro stations, and cancelling trains, you can stop democracy from coming? You may forget democracy, but the people of this country who have shed their blood have not forgotten democracy, which is why we are on the streets," she said during the march.
In view of the march, barricades and heavy police deployment were placed as thousands of political workers and civil rights activists marched under the INDIA bloc banner. (ANI)
INDIA Bloc leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, move Supreme Court against Election Commission
