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New Delhi : Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said he and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi have scheduled a meeting with chief justice of India between 4 and 5 pm on Monday to seek his intervention on the issue of “vote chori”.
Speaking in Bengaluru, Kharge also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have “created chaos” across the country, and the heavy police deployment and detentions amid protests demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday show the government’s “fear” of the youth agitation.
“We have sought a time between 4 and 5 pm. We will also apprise him, as we cannot demand. Only with folded hands, we can request him,” Kharge said about the meeting with CJI Surya Kant.
The Congress chief added that he and Rahul Gandhi have both written letters to the CJI.
He posted a video of his comments made to the media in Bengaluru on X.
Referring to the security clampdown on Saturday in Delhi, Kharge said roads were blocked, communication channels were disrupted, access to the airport was restricted, and mobile networks were shut down.
“Yesterday, nearly 32,000 police personnel and 7,500 CRPF personnel were deployed. This itself shows how much fear the government has of the youth agitation,” he claimed.
All of this demonstrates that the government does not want democracy to function peacefully in India, he alleged. “We will continue our fight to protect democracy and the constitutional rights of the people”.
The protest on Saturday, called by the CJP to demand Kumar’s resignation, witnessed widespread detentions across the national capital, with more than 7,000 people, including several opposition leaders and activists, detained. Restrictions were imposed on metro and train services and internet was suspended in parts of Delhi as part of measures to stop the protesters from reaching Jantar Mantar.
Opposition parties have been protesting since Tuesday and have been demanding the immediate removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the prime minister and the BJP of “stealing” elections through “vote theft”.
INDIA bloc grouping took to the streets on Tuesday when they first marched from Parliament to the Election Commission but were stopped on the way, with Rahul Gandhi staging an eight-hour sit-in inside Akashvani Bhawan complex.
Opposition MPs met for lunch in central Delhi on Wednesday and Thursday, after which they staged a march, first to Jantar Mantar on the first day, and to Rajghat the next day.
INDIA bloc parties also met President Droupadi Murmu on Friday evening and handed over a memorandum seeking her immediate intervention as head of the republic.
The INDIA bloc has also announced that it will hold a protest march in Delhi against the CEC on the ‘vote chori’ issue on Monday.
The opposition’s aggressive push comes days after a report highlighting internal differences within the poll body, with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objecting on record at least 14 times over the last 10 months, including on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Last week, the INDIA bloc finalised a joint action plan on the SIR row, including holding rallies and “save democracy” marches. (Agencies)
