‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’: The INDIA bloc rally at Ramlila Maidan, as it unfolded

The INDIA bloc held its “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao” rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on Sunday. The rally, attended by leaders from across the Opposition, was part of the bloc’s push against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. 

They had announced that they would walk from Minto Bridge to Ramlila Maidan, but Rahul Gandhi arrived at the venue around 2.30 pm in a vehicle with Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav. At the venue, they addressed the large gathering, as did Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, Farooq Abdullah, and Mehbooba Mufti.

Leaders and attendees demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a rollback of the SIR. Attendees from Bihar, Maharashtra and Rajasthan described voters being left off the rolls despite having documents. Others raised inflation, pollution and women’s safety, showing that the rally was not limited to “vote chori”.  

Newslaundry spoke to party workers from several states and to ordinary citizens with no party affiliations. By our estimate, at least one lakh people attended, with many more outside who could not get in. 

Watch the full video.

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