NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders on Monday filed a petition in the Supreme Court over alleged large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The other petitioners include Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) MP Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party (Pawar) (NCP-SCP) leader Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena-UBT leader Sanjay Raut, Congress Party of India's (CPI) D Raja, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Mahua Majhi, CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML leader) E T Mohammed Basheer.
The petition has made the Election Commission of India, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and other Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi parties in the case.
Later in the evening, Gandhi and Kharge, accompanied by other INDIA bloc leaders, reached the Supreme Court to sign certain documents related to their petition.
Opposition MPs and leaders, accompanied by hundreds of supporters and activists, on Monday started their "March for Democracy" to the Supreme Court to submit a petition on their "vote chori" charge and against the CEC.
Those leading the march included Leaders of Opposition (LoPs) in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Gandhi and Kharge respectively, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, CPI's D Raja, Baby and Tejashwi Yadav, besides Sule, Raut, CPI(ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya and Basheer.
The development comes a day after Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant declined a request made by Gandhi, and the INDIA bloc's request for a meeting with him to discuss the alleged electoral irregularities, SIR and action against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kumar.
The CJI's office, in an email reply sent on Sunday, told Congress leaders -- LOP Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, that he cannot meet them as the issue is sub judice and they should approach the court through a proper petition if they seek judicial intervention in the issue.
LOP in Lok Sabha Gandhi and LOP in Rajya Sabha Kharge had earlier on Saturday sought time from the CJI to meet him Monday between 4-5 pm to present a memorandum demanding an end to "vote chori", stopping SIR and demanding resignation of CEC Kumar.
Delhi witnessed heightened security over the weekend amid protests against the CEC, with restrictions on movement, the closure of 45 metro stations and intensive checks at the city's border points. Thousands of protesters, including leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and former chief ministers, were detained.
The Opposition's campaign has intensified amid reports of differences within the Election Commission, with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi reportedly recording objections at least 14 times over the past 10 months, including on the SIR exercise.
