New Delhi: INDIA bloc leaders met President Droupadi Murmu and submitted a memorandum raising their allegations of electoral irregularities, taking their dispute over “vote theft” to Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Mamata Banerjee were among the opposition leaders who met Murmu.
Rahul Gandhi outlines the opposition’s next step
In a separate statement posted by Congress, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said opposition MPs had first sought to meet the Chief Election Commissioner. He alleged that they were detained, assaulted and pushed, put into buses and taken to a police station.
Gandhi also said they were stopped when they went to Jantar Mantar. After meeting the President, he said the opposition planned to go to the Supreme Court on Monday to submit a memorandum to the Chief Justice of India.
That statement describes a planned submission; it does not establish that a court petition has already been filed or that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the opposition’s allegations.
Meeting follows dispute over access to the Election Commission
The visit comes amid the opposition’s campaign alleging problems with electoral processes and its dispute with the Election Commission over a proposed meeting. The “vote theft” charge and Gandhi’s account of police treatment are opposition allegations, rather than findings established by the President’s meeting.
For the earlier developments, read our report on Congress’s account of Rahul Gandhi’s detention at Kingsway Camp and the Election Commission’s response on the meeting and appointment dispute.
The protest issue has a separate legal and policing track: Delhi Police has refused permission for the October 10 Jantar Mantar programme, while the Supreme Court has called for regulated Metro and rail services instead of an outright transport ban.
