INDIA bloc to rally at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday against SIR; BJP plans counter-march

Opposition parties in the INDIA bloc will hold a rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, November 1, against the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The BJP has dismissed the protest as a sign of opposition frustration and plans a march of its own the same day.

On Friday, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi postponed a symbolic "public impeachment" of the Chief Election Commissioner, which had been planned for that day, to Saturday, October 31, because of rain, news agency ANI reported.

The rally

The "Chalo Dilli Ramlila March" is being organised by the Congress-led INDIA bloc, according to Republic. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hosted opposition MPs at his residence to plan it. Those present included Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh and Gaurav Gogoi of the Congress, Derek O'Brien of the Trinamool Congress, John Brittas, and leaders of the RJD and the Samajwadi Party, ETV Bharat reported.

Mr O'Brien said he was representing Mamata Banerjee and the All India Trinamool Congress, and named the Shiv Sena, JMM, RSP, CPI and RJD among the parties taking part, Republic reported.

Ms Banerjee, the former West Bengal Chief Minister, said in a post on X on Thursday that the bloc would "stand united at Ramlila Maidan", Outlook reported. "When the vote is under threat, silence is not an option," she wrote. Outlook did not say whether she would attend in person.

In a video appeal, Mr Gandhi urged citizens and students to join, saying it was not a march of any one party. "Don't worry about the police, don't worry about lathis," he said, according to ETV Bharat.

The opposition is expected to demand Mr Kumar's resignation over the SIR, ANI reported. Opposition leaders accuse the Election Commission of removing large numbers of genuine voters from the rolls, which they call "vote chori" (vote theft). The Commission has defended the exercise; in an affidavit to the Supreme Court this month it said its decisions on the SIR were unanimous.

Southmatters reported that Delhi Police had granted permission for the rally on conditions, including that it end by 5 pm.

What the BJP says

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the opposition had "lied about the Nov 1 rally" and suggested that was why the mock parliament was deferred, ANI reported. BJP MP Jagdambika Pal said the protest was "just his frustration", referring to Mr Gandhi.

Union Minister Chirag Paswan questioned the choice of date, which is the anniversary of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, and said it carried "a different, sombre significance". BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said a rally at Ramlila Maidan in the festive season could hurt traders in the area.

ANI reported that the BJP would hold its own march in Delhi's Hari Nagar area at 11 am on Sunday, with about 5,000 people expected, many of them from the Sikh community. Survivors of the 1984 riots, led by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee vice-president Atma Singh Lubana, have also announced a protest against the rally and said they would ask Home Minister Amit Shah to refuse it permission, Republic reported.

Mr Gandhi accused Mr Shah of trying to stop people from reaching Delhi, ANI reported. Karnataka minister Ajay Dharam Singh alleged that trains, metro services and buses had been cancelled, according to Republic. Neither claim had been confirmed by the authorities.

What happens next

The mock impeachment is now set for Saturday, at the same time it had been scheduled for Friday. The rally follows on Sunday.

The legal challenge continues separately. On October 27, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant adjourned a batch of petitions challenging the Chief Election Commissioner's functioning to November 17, and gave the petitioners 10 days to reply to the Commission's affidavit, UNI reported.