New Delhi: Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju lashed out at Opposition leaders on Monday, calling the Congress party “directionless”, even as INDI bloc leaders marched towards the Supreme Court to petition against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and demand action against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar,
Protesting is every citizen’s right, Rijiju said on X, while adding “brazenly abusing constitutional authorities is deplorable.”
“The Congress Party is directionless now. But they can improve their numbers if they have a mature and committed leader who doesn’t enjoy spending 200 holidays a year,” he posted, escalating his attack on the Opposition leadership, as reported by ANI.
This came at a time when Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi led the INDI bloc’s march towards the Supreme Court on Monday. Congress general secratary (organsation) K C Venugopal and Karnataka chief minister D K Shivakumar were also present. They were joined by other INDI Alliance leaders including, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora was also seen walking alongside Rahul and Priyanka during the march.
Rahul’s legal team has reached the Supreme Court registry seeking an extension to file an in-person writ petition. The petition reportedly concerns the protest-related issues in New Delhi.
His legal team is known to have sought an extension beyond 4.30 pm, which is the closing time for the apex courts’ registry to file their plea.
Generally, in such a case, a party can always access the apex courts’ E-filing service, which is open and accessible 24/7.
Barricades and heavy police deployment were placed as thousands of political workers and civil rights activists marched towards the Supreme Court under the INDI bloc banner.
“People from across the country have come here and brought Delhi to a standstill. We are opposed to SIR and ‘Vote theft’…They have rigged the voter list and looted the elections in Haryana, Assam, and Bihar in this manner. Now, they are preparing to do the same in Punjab. That is why people have taken to the streets, to ensure that our votes are not deleted,” Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi told ANI.