SIR, You’re On Notice: INDIA Bloc Sets Oct 6 EC March, Nov 1 Delhi Rally, Pushes For Gyanesh Kumar’s Removal

The INDIA bloc on Wednesday finalised a coordinated campaign against the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, deciding to take the issue beyond Parliament and courtrooms with district-level protests, a march to the poll panel, a representation to the President and a major rally in Delhi.

At the end of a meeting that lasted around three-and-a-half hours, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the participating parties had agreed to “fight together” on the issue. The meeting was attended by leaders of 19 opposition parties, including Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Tejashwi Yadav, Omar Abdullah and Supriya Sule. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren joined virtually.

The first decision was to begin a “Save Democracy” campaign from October 2 to 8. INDIA bloc parties will organise marches and demonstrations at the district level, including outside district magistrates' offices. The campaign will involve party workers as well as youth, NGOs and civil society groups.

The next major action has already been fixed for October 6, when Opposition MPs from both Houses will march to the Election Commission. Leaders of the Opposition will also seek an appointment with President Droupadi Murmu in the second week of October to submit a representation on their concerns. Five larger rallies are planned, followed by a mega rally in Delhi on November 1.

The bloc also agreed on a set of demands covering the entire electoral process. Kharge said the parties wanted pre-SIR electoral rolls to be used for future elections, full transparency in voter-list additions and deletions, prior notice and reasons before a voter's name is removed, and a meaningful appeal mechanism. The parties also called for easier registration of young and first-time voters.

A major point of agreement was the demand for a return to ballot-paper voting instead of EVMs. Kharge said there was complete agreement among the participating parties on this issue. The bloc also decided to seek faster hearings in pending Supreme Court cases concerning SIR and electoral rolls.

The proposed removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was another key issue discussed. Opposition parties are preparing a fresh removal motion, with leaders saying the CEC must step down. Kharge reiterated the demand after the meeting, while Mamata Banerjee demanded Kumar's immediate removal.

Mamata said the INDIA bloc was “very much united” and argued that the Opposition had raised concerns through Parliament, the Election Commission and the courts. She said the campaign would now be taken to the people and called for participation by students, youth and civil society.

Rahul Gandhi said the meeting had brought opposition parties together as “collective defenders” of the Constitution and vowed that the campaign would continue. He framed “vote chori” as the central political issue and said the Opposition would pursue accountability.

The meeting also exposed the limits of the bloc's coordination. DMK and AAP did not attend, while Akhilesh Yadav was absent because of the Rajya Sabha nomination process in Uttar Pradesh, though the SP was represented.