Samajwadi Party expected to join Thursday’s protest; parallel “people’s tribunal” planned in Bengaluru
New Delhi, October 8: The INDIA bloc’s campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar entered its third straight day on Thursday, with Opposition MPs set to stage another protest in the capital. Security across Delhi has been tightened.
On Wednesday, Delhi Police stopped three buses carrying MPs to Jantar Mantar near Janpath, and most lawmakers and supporters were detained. The standoff brought traffic across much of central Delhi to a halt.
The bloc may grow stronger today. The Samajwadi Party, which has 37 Lok Sabha MPs, skipped Wednesday’s lunch hosted by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, citing poor communication from the Congress. HT has learnt that the SP is now expected to join the protest.
Meanwhile, the Centre has reinforced Kumar’s existing Z+ security cover, adding personnel at his residence, at the Election Commission office and in his personal detail. A senior police officer said the move followed a threat assessment after protesters traced his home in Delhi and demonstrated outside his family’s house in Agra.
The agitation, centred on alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, is also spreading beyond Delhi. Actor Prakash Raj has announced a “people’s tribunal” at Bengaluru’s Freedom Park on Thursday, featuring people he describes as SIR victims from across Karnataka. Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee are expected to attend.
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