Several senior opposition leaders attended the rally. (PTI)

NEW DELHI: Leaders of the INDIA bloc on Sunday held a mega rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, targeting Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.The rally, held over allegations of “vote chori”, saw senior opposition leaders accuse the BJP of manipulating elections and undermining democracy.Several leaders called for Gyanesh Kumar’s removal and alleged that the Election Commission was acting in favour of the ruling party.‘Gyanesh, when will you vanish?’ Mamata mocks CECFormer West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to influence the West Bengal elections and vowed to fight against the alleged actions.“Bengal is victim of SIR. We will not spare them, we will fight,” she said, adding, “Gyanesh, when will you vanish?”“These people have looted the country’s democracy and constitution through ‘vote theft’, and attacked it on top of that. The BJP has stolen youth’s jobs, stolen women’s honor, stolen donations—we must remove them from power,” Mamata said.Kharge accuses Modi, Shah of shielding CECCongress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the BJP government had come to power through a “stolen” mandate. He said removing Prime Minister Narendra Modi was necessary to protect democracy.Kharge accused Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah of attempting to take away the voting rights of Dalits, women and young people. He alleged that the two leaders were shielding CEC Gyanesh Kumar.“Modi and Shah have attempted to snatch the vote of Dalits, youth and women. Modi ji wants to take away their votes through his man — Ganesh Kumar. We will keep fighting until he goes, and ensure his exit,” Kharge said.He further alleged that the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh had been formed through “vote chori”.“Be it the central government, governments in Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, they are ‘chori’ governments (formed on stolen mandate). We have to throw out these ‘vote chor’,” he said.Kharge also said the opposition would continue its agitation until Kumar resigned.“No matter how many attempts Narendra Modi makes.. until Gyanesh Kumar resigns, we will not stay silent—we will keep fighting,” he said.He added that opposition leaders would not be intimidated by central agencies or the police.“We have the strength to fight and will not be intimidated by the police, CBI, ED or any other government agency. Neither will our INDIA alliance leaders be scared. Everyone on this stage is ready to fight,” Kharge said.He also reiterated his call for Modi’s removal, saying: “Modi jayega to hi loktantra bachega, Modi ko hatayenge tabhi loktantra ko bachenyenge, Modi ko hatao loktantra ko bachao (Remove Modi to save democracy).”Akhilesh invokes Haldighati, predicts ‘parivartan’Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav described Ramlila Maidan as the “Haldighati of democracy” and said the rally signalled that political change could come at any time.“Today, Ramlila Maidan has turned into the Haldighati of democracy. The massive public support and slogans of revolution are proof that change can happen at any moment,” he said.Yadav also targeted the BJP, saying those who had once claimed to be an “unmovable foot of Angad” had lost their political ground.He alleged that the party was turning to the Election Commission because it feared losing elections.“The people of UP know how to welcome and how to bid farewell even better. In 2027, such a farewell will happen that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies will not be able to return again,” he said.Tejashwi compares rally to MahabharataRashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav compared the opposition rally to the Mahabharata, accusing those in power of manipulating elections.

“While the Ramlila Maidan is traditionally meant for staging the Ramayana, today we have organised a ‘Mahabharata’ for those who steal votes,” he said.Referring to the dice game in the epic, Tejashwi said, “You are all aware of the game Shakuni played in the Mahabharata. You know your history: the Mahabharata began not on a battlefield, but with a game of dice. And now that Shakuni is playing his game, we are compelled to fight the battle…”Several senior opposition leaders attended the rally, including Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Kharge, Akhilesh Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby, CPI general secretary D Raja and CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya.Earlier, INDIA bloc leaders travelled in an open vehicle from the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction towards Ramlila Maidan, as hundreds of supporters marched alongside them.