INDIA bloc rallies in Delhi against voter-roll revision

The INDIA bloc held a march and rally in Delhi on November 1 to protest the Election Commission’s voter-roll revision and demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. Opposition leaders and supporters marched from the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction to Ramlila Maidan. The mobilisation, called Chalo Dilli, brought together leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav and Farooq Abdullah. Supporters carried party flags and placards opposing the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of electoral rolls. The procession continued to the rally venue as people gathered there. The bloc alleges that the SIR removed eligible voters and has called for Kumar to resign. The Indian Youth Congress displayed voter lists that it said showed eligible names deleted, and claimed minority, Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities were affected. The alleged deletions have not been independently established in the reporting on the event. Before the rally, the bloc said it expected as many as 10 lakh attendees, while Delhi Police expected about 50,000. Those were advance...