New Delhi: The INDIA bloc’s confrontation with the country’s top constitutional authorities escalated on Monday after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant turned down its request for a meeting, prompting Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut to warn that voters would not forget the episode.
The opposition alliance is scheduled to march to the Supreme Court to press for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, whom it accuses of presiding over alleged electoral irregularities and large-scale deletion of names from voter lists.
“We have come today as the INDIA bloc is organising a major march towards the Supreme Court to meet the Chief Justice. We had requested an appointment… The Chief Justice, whose role is to safeguard the Constitution, is unwilling to meet us… When we are seeking to save democracy amidst the theft of votes and electoral fraud, and the deletion of millions of names from the rolls and wish to meet you to voice our grievance, you say you will not meet politicians. The people will remember this,” Raut told ANI.
The Rajya Sabha MP claimed the delegation had initially been told that a meeting could be arranged within a few days, only for the request to be rejected at the last moment.
“The ‘INDIA’ alliance is going to the Supreme Court. Rahul Gandhi had requested a meeting with the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant. Initially, it was stated that the Chief Justice would meet within four to five days. Suddenly, last night, it was stated that the leaders of the opposition-the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha-had requested a meeting, but there was no right to meet, or that political leaders have no right to meet,” he said.
Raut alleged that every constitutional avenue was now closed to those opposing the government.
“This kind of stance, when taken by the Chief Justice of India, is a blow to the millions of citizens in this country who are fighting against autocracy and fighting for the protection of democracy. All doors have been closed. Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have installed their own people in every constitutional institution. As a final resort, when we tried to visit the Chief Justice of India, the Chief Justice of India closed the doors. This is a misfortune for the constitution and democracy of this country.”
He added: “Our Chief Justice says that he does not have the right to meet political leaders. If the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is going to disrespect the vote-the people’s mandate-then who should the people of this country turn to?”
CPI MP P Santosh Kumar said the alliance would not retreat despite the setback.
“SIR (Special Intensive Revision) and vote theft are very serious issues, and democracy is under threat. So, the India bloc parties are in an agitation, and it is continuing. We had several protests. A protest march to the Election Commission of India, and we met the honourable President of India. And we decided to meet the honourable Chief Justice of our country, but unfortunately, he declined,” he said.
“But we will continue our protests. And today, there is a meeting of India Alliance MPs and leaders, so we will chalk out a further action plan in that meeting. And in the coming days, the demand of Gyanesh Kumar will intensify-I mean, our resignation [demand] will intensify. All India parties are united, and more and more youth and student organizations are also joining. Even though Delhi has become a military zone, we will continue our agitation with full capacity in the coming days also,” Kumar added.
