Indian opposition leaders march to top court demanding election chief's resignation

Indian opposition leaders marched to the Supreme Court in Delhi on Monday to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, citing allegations of voter roll manipulation to favor Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Election Commission and the BJP have denied these accusations.

Chief Justice Surya Kant informed reporters that he had declined a meeting with the opposition leaders, citing "certain reasons" that reportedly included the fact that some of their concerns were already pending before the court. He stated that the court would hear their concerns and grant what is due under the law if they filed a petition.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who shared a letter co-written with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge outlining their grievances, urged all opposition parties and civil society groups to join the march. He announced that they would file a petition after the march concluded.

Authorities in Delhi implemented significant traffic restrictions and closed several metro stations, with a heavy deployment of security forces along the march route. In the preceding days, top opposition leaders, including Gandhi, had been briefly detained during protests. The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), a non-political group, also attempted protests over the weekend, leading to the detention of thousands of demonstrators, including journalists. CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Ranka were detained from a plane upon arrival in Delhi.