Rahul Gandhi accuses Centre, CEC of undermining democracy

NEW DELHI Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of undermining democracy, as opposition MPs marched to the Election Commission office over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The opposition leaders marched from Parliament towards Nirvachan Sadan but were stopped by barricades and heavy security deployment near Akashvani Bhavan. Gandhi said the opposition wanted to meet the Election Commissioners and raise questions regarding the electoral roll revision. “300 opposition MPs were removed from there, so I came here and sat. We just want to meet Gyanesh Kumar and the other election commissioners,” Gandhi said. He questioned why the Election Commission was unwilling to meet opposition leaders, saying they represented millions of voters. “We just want to ask questions, but they don’t want to answer,” he said. Gandhi further alleged that the electoral process had been compromised and accused the Prime Minister and Home Minister of “hijacking” the country. He also named RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and CEC Gyanesh Kumar while alleging that democracy had been undermined. “The democracy is finished. Narendra Modi ji, Amit Shah, Mohan Bhagwat and Gyanesh Kumar have finished the vote,” Gandhi alleged. He said the opposition was attempting to protect the Constitution and demanded that the police allow him to continue his protest. CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said opposition MPs were prevented from proceeding despite the presence of several security forces. He said parties outside the INDIA bloc, including the Biju Janata Dal, had also joined the demonstration. The protest is part of the Opposition’s broader “Save Democracy” campaign against the Election Commission and the SIR exercise. The controversy intensified after reports claimed that two Election Commissioners had raised objections during the SIR process, while the ECI maintained that its decisions were unanimous. The Opposition has also questioned changes to Form 6 used for voter enrolment.