Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will host INDIA bloc MPs, civil society members and student organisation leaders for a high tea at his residence in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The gathering will follow a joint press conference by INDIA bloc leaders in the afternoon, as the Opposition seeks to intensify its united fight against the government over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Gandhi has invited the leaders to his residence at 5, Sunehri Bagh Road, New Delhi, at 4 pm.
“Following today's March for Democracy and the submission of the petition, a joint press conference of INDIA leaders will be held tomorrow afternoon, followed by tea,” the invitation read, according to PTI.
The Congress is seeking to consolidate Opposition unity as Monday’s protest march to the Supreme Court has injected fresh momentum into the INDIA bloc’s campaign against the Election Commission’s handling of the SIR exercise.
Besides Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, CPI leader D Raja, CPI(M) leader M A Baby, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule were among those who led the march from the front.
The demonstration, which also saw participation from activists, civil society members and student groups, proceeded along the heavily barricaded Barakhamba Road towards the apex court. Protesters crossed a barricade near Bhagwan Dass Road but were stopped at a second barricade.
The march culminated in 11 Opposition leaders filing a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission’s decisions concerning the SIR of electoral rolls.
Taking to X after the protest, Gandhi thanked those who participated in the demonstration, as well as supporters who expressed solidarity.
“Today was a very important day because we needed to show the government that the people of India are not going to be intimidated. You cannot beat us, threaten us, frighten us. We will not accept being bullied,” he said.
The petition, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, seeks a suspension of the ongoing SIR exercise across the country until the issues raised are adjudicated. It also calls for an independent committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to examine the implementation of the revision exercise and review the technical systems governing electoral rolls and Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
