Left leaders on Sunday joined Opposition parties at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan for the ‘Chalo Dilli’ march, stepping up their attack on the BJP-led Centre and the Election Commission over alleged electoral irregularities and the revision of electoral rolls.
The rally, held under the INDIA bloc’s ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ campaign, saw participation from senior Left leaders, including CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby, CPI general secretary D Raja and CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya. Other prominent names from the Left also lent their support to the mega showdown.
It was for the first time a student leader — AISA president Neha Bora — was sharing the stage with senior INDIA bloc leaders.
“Every individual in India will have equal status, and the symbol of that equality is our one vote. When you take away that vote, you turn us into second-class citizens in our own country and declare us outsiders,” she said.
Targeting the BJP and the RSS, the AISA leader questioned their authority to demand proof of citizenship from ordinary Indians, particularly Muslims, women, Dalits, Adivasis and poor workers.
“Who are you to ask the people of India to prove their citizenship?” Bora asked, referring to the historical opposition of the RSS to hoisting the National Flag at its offices.
Drawing a parallel with colonial-era practices, she accused the ruling establishment of using tactics similar to those employed by the British to intimidate people and restrict their rights.
Addressing the gathering, D Raja said the Opposition’s campaign was sending a strong message to the government and the international community about its fight to protect democracy and citizens’ voting rights.
“It is a huge message, not only to the government but to the whole world, about how we are fighting for democracy, or the right to vote for citizens,” he said.
Referring to Prime Minister Narenra Modi’s “mangalsutra” jibe at the Congress, CPI(M) leader M A Baby said women and men both are losing their hard-earned money, adding that instead of doubling farmers’ income, the BJP has ended up doubling the farmers suicide rates.
Dipankar Bhattacharya said history has been rewritten from Ramlila Maidan multiple times, warning that the country is currently under a police-state dynamic.
“The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise is a ‘surgical strike’ by the powers that be to snatch the voting rights of ordinary citizens. It is not just about stealing votes, it is related to the larger struggles of farmers, working class and the downtrodden,” he said at the rally.
The Opposition’s principal demand is the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, whom it has accused of failing to ensure transparency and fairness in the electoral process. The parties also raised concerns over alleged large-scale deletions of voters’ names during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Left leaders have maintained that the Election Commission must function as an independent, impartial and neutral constitutional institution.
Raja had also called for the withdrawal of the SIR exercise, arguing that the revision should not deprive eligible citizens of their voting rights. The mobilisation also saw participation from the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) and Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU).
The rally followed a symbolic public impeachment programme against the CEC organised by Opposition leaders on Saturday, in which six charges were leveled against Kumar.
The Opposition has alleged that the SIR exercise has led to large-scale deletion of voters’ names and undermined the integrity of the electoral process.
The Election Commission, however, has maintained that the revision is aimed at removing duplicate and ineligible entries and has denied allegations of political bias.
