New Delhi: Members of Parliament from the INDIA alliance on Tuesday launched a “Save Democracy” protest walk from Parliament House to the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters, calling for the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged violations in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Elaborate security measures, including barricades and a substantial presence of paramilitary forces, were deployed around Parliament and the ECI complex well before the scheduled start of the march. Police and security personnel had taken up positions along the route hours ahead of the MPs’ arrival.
Prominent opposition figures, including Rajya Sabha Opposition Leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, were expected to join the demonstration.
The MPs first assembled at Parliament’s Makar Dwar and then commenced their walk to Nirvachan Sadan, the ECI headquarters, at around 11 a.m., as reported by The New Indian Express.
SC Clarification Fuels CEC Ouster Push
In the run-up to the march, opposition MPs challenged the security arrangements and sharpened their demand for Kumar’s resignation, citing the Supreme Court’s Monday observations on alterations to Form 6, the statutory application for voter enrolment.
Congress MP Imran Masood accused Kumar of undermining public confidence in the poll body.
“Across the country, the institution that Gyanesh Kumar headed was an institution the entire country trusted, an institution the entire country took pride in and felt proud of. Questions were never raised over its impartiality. One person has broken that trust,” he told PTI Videos.
“And an entire nexus is working together. We will question Gyanesh Kumar, and the BJP chief ministers will start giving the answers,” he alleged.
CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said the Supreme Court’s remarks on Monday had bolstered the opposition’s objections to the extra declaration appended to Form 6 during the SIR exercise.
“On September 26, there was a press statement by the Commission and it was stated that the entire process related to Form 6 has been ratified by the Supreme Court. Whereas it has been proven that it is an entirely misleading statement,” he alleged.
Branding the CEC a “Cheating Election Commissioner”, the CPI leader said opposition parties had been protesting against the SIR provisions since 2025 and would now escalate their agitation.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut questioned the heavy security deployment ahead of the march, insisting the MPs intended to proceed peacefully.
“We are MPs. We are members of Parliament. We are also citizens of this country. Why is there a need to deploy such a large force to stop us? We will walk and go. We are unarmed,” he said.
Raut claimed that personnel from the Border Security Force and Central Industrial Security Force had been deployed and that security outside ministers’ residences had also been tightened.
Supreme Court’s Version
Accusing Kumar of misleading the public over the Supreme Court’s stance on Form 6, he said the CEC had “no moral right” to continue in office.
On Monday, the Supreme Court said it never approved any changed version of Form 6 and would check the Election Commission’s records to see if changes were made and who ordered them, while hearing a petition against alleged unilateral moves by CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
In a September 26 statement, the Commission had claimed the extra declaration added to Form 6 for the SIR exercise was backed by the Court, and that regular forms under the 1960 rules would be used outside the SIR period.
The march comes as the opposition intensifies its campaign over alleged SIR irregularities and reported disagreements inside the three-member poll body, which has denied any split and said all SIR decisions were unanimous.