The Congress on Sunday vowed to press ahead with a major Opposition protest in the national capital on October 12 against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, describing the mobilisation as a “second freedom struggle” to protect democracy and citizens’ voting rights.
Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal said leaders of the INDIA bloc and young people from across the country would participate in Monday’s demonstration over allegations of “vote chori” and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
“This is the most powerful struggle to protect democracy in the country. It is a struggle to maintain the voting rights of the voters of the country,” Venugopal said, asserting that the Opposition remained united despite attempts to disrupt its mobilisation.
He alleged that party workers were being prevented from travelling to Delhi and that raids were being conducted at hostels and private residences where participants were staying. Venugopal also claimed that train cancellations had affected ordinary people seeking to reach the capital for the protest.
“Even if all this is done, it won't fail. Tomorrow in Delhi, a more powerful struggle will be there. The opposition is united and standing together as a single unit,” he said.
Venugopal accused the Chief Election Commissioner of acting at the behest of the BJP-led government and argued that the right to vote was fundamental to democratic citizenship. The allegations concerning electoral irregularities and political interference remain contested.
Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh also criticised the government’s handling of recent demonstrations, describing the police action as “an assault on the foundations of democracy in India” and “a grave insult to the Constitution”.
“Trampling these values to preserve power is to hollow out constitutional rights from within,” Ramesh said in a post on X, warning that weakening democratic institutions for political gain would undermine the country’s constitutional foundations.
The Congress leaders’ remarks follow a security crackdown during earlier demonstrations in Delhi against the Chief Election Commissioner. Police detained protesters and opposition leaders as authorities imposed restrictions across parts of the capital, prompting criticism from opposition parties over the handling of peaceful assembly.
Venugopal alleged that police and paramilitary personnel had been deployed in large numbers to prevent protesters from gathering and claimed that some opposition leaders had been treated inappropriately during detention.
Despite the restrictions, the Congress maintained that Monday’s mobilisation would go ahead, with the party and its INDIA bloc partners seeking to sustain pressure over electoral roll revision and accountability within the Election Commission.
