India
oi-Ashish Rana
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the Opposition would continue its political campaign against alleged electoral irregularities and restrictions on protests, while expressing confidence in the judiciary. He made the remarks during a joint press conference with INDIA bloc leaders at his residence.
Rahul Gandhi stated the INDIA bloc will continue campaigning against alleged electoral irregularities and protest restrictions, expressing confidence in the judiciary while a related Supreme Court petition faces registry-related defects.
Rahul Gandhi Targets Modi Government Over Democracy
Rahul Gandhi said the Opposition was united and dismissed suggestions of separate protests. He alleged that democracy and elections had been undermined and said the campaign aimed to restore democratic rule in India.
“We are all standing together. There are no parallel protests. There is one single protest. The mission is to restore democracy in India. Democracy has been destroyed. The elections have been destroyed. We are fighting to restore genuine democratic rule in the country,” Gandhi said.
He also criticised the government’s decision to stop the use of Jantar Mantar for protests, naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Opposition Says Campaign Will Continue
Gandhi said the Opposition would not disclose its future strategy but would continue mobilising public support. He also expressed respect for the Chief Justice of India (CJI), the Supreme Court and the judicial system.
“We have extreme respect for the judiciary and CJI. They have a role to play and we hope they play that. Political resistance and people’s will continue and we will triumph,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi’s SIR Petition Not Listed In Supreme Court
Meanwhile, a petition filed by Gandhi and 10 prominent Opposition leaders following a march on October 12 was not listed for hearing on Tuesday because registry-related defects remained unresolved.
The Supreme Court registry had flagged 14 defects, including an unclear copy of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s identity card and illegible or missing pages. A bench headed by the CJI assured senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan that the matters would be listed once the defects were corrected.
“We will list all these matters. Make sure that the defects are cured,” the CJI told the lawyer.
What The Opposition Wants From The Election Commission
The petition alleges large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. It seeks an independent, time-bound audit led by a retired Supreme Court judge, assisted by technical experts and eminent citizens.
The petition also seeks safeguards against deleting voters without notice and a reasonable hearing, along with access to electoral rolls for eligible voters in Punjab and other poll-bound states within the legally permitted period.
The Opposition has also sought records of disputed SIR decisions, including relevant ECINET and ERONET access logs and documents relating to the decision taken on June 24, 2025, to begin the exercise nationwide.
Earlier, the CJI declined Gandhi and Kharge’s request for a meeting to submit a memorandum, stating that discussing sub judice matters in such a meeting would conflict with the separation of powers and judicial propriety.
