Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Saturday called for a protest march in Delhi on October 12 against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. In a post on X, Venugopal urged every common citizen to join the march against what he called a nationwide vote theft orchestrated by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Meanwhile, around 1,000 protesters have been detained across the capital while trying to march towards Jantar Mantar for a protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which is demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, Delhi Police sources said on Saturday.
“We appeal to every Indian concerned about the survival of Indian democracy to join us in a massive protest march in Delhi on Monday – against the nationwide Vote Chori orchestrated by the Modi-Shah regime,” he said. He said he had held a detailed meeting with various leaders to prepare for the march, and that a delegation of senior leaders would submit a memorandum to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) seeking his intervention. In a post on X, Kharge said: “Our youth, students, lawyers, journalists, social activists, farm union leaders, YouTubers, content creators, everyone who is questioning this regime (BJP government) are being detained. Kharge said the Congress would continue to defend democracy, the Constitution and the fundamental rights of every Indian. “Our GenZ deserves better than an undeclared Emer-GenZ,” he said, adding that a government confident in the fairness of elections should welcome questions rather than respond with restrictions. Barricades, he said, would not restore public confidence in the Election Commission, and he urged the Union government to give answers instead of using force.
The Congress also criticised the restrictions imposed in central Delhi over the CJP protest, accusing the Union government of curbing fundamental rights and suppressing dissent. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leaders Shashi Tharoor and P Chidambaram condemned the security measures, including alleged detentions, curbs on movement and disruption to public transport and internet services. Modi Govt has turned the ‘Mother of Democracy’ into a ‘Muzzled Democracy’.
