Delhi on High Alert for INDIA Bloc March Against CEC, 10,000 Personnel and 250 Cameras Deployed

The Opposition is demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over alleged electoral irregularities, while the BJP has defended the Election Commission.

Nearly 10,000 police and paramilitary personnel will be deployed across central Delhi on Sunday as the INDIA bloc prepares to march against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The proposed march from the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction to Ramlila Maidan has not received separate police permission, even as the rally at the ground has been cleared subject to conditions.

The November 1 demonstration, called the 'Chalo Dilli' march, is expected to bring together Opposition leaders, party workers, students and civil society representatives. The organisers have projected a turnout of nearly one million people, while Delhi Police is preparing for a gathering of around 50,000. The arrangements include nearly 250 high-definition cameras, barricades across central Delhi and traffic restrictions between 10 am and 5 pm.

10,000 personnel deployed, roads barricaded

According to Hindustan Times, the security deployment will comprise approximately 3,000 Delhi Police personnel and 7,000 paramilitary personnel along the march route and around Ramlila Maidan. Another 10 companies of security forces have been kept in reserve and may be deployed depending on the crowd.

Nearly 250 high-definition, AI-enabled CCTV cameras will monitor the gathering, with footage relayed to a control room at the venue. Drones, body-worn cameras and anti-riot equipment will also be part of the security arrangements. The ground has been divided into eight regions, each supervised by a deputy commissioner of police or an additional DCP, and 14 zones under assistant commissioners of police.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Rohit Rajbir Singh said the police were coordinating with the organisers despite the absence of a formal request for permission for the march.

“The organisers have not approached us seeking permission for the march. However, we are trying to facilitate it as smoothly as possible,” Singh said.

Delhi Police has issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the rally at Ramlila Maidan from 10 am to 5 pm, subject to prior permission from the land-owning authority and compliance with police conditions. However, no separate permission has been sought or granted for the proposed procession from the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction, police officers said.

The conditions require the gathering to remain peaceful and conclude by 5 pm. Overnight stays at the venue are not permitted.

The deployment of 270 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in Delhi has also been extended until November 16, PTI reported. The extension, the third of its kind, is intended to address the rally, possible flash protests and law-and-order requirements during the festival season.

Traffic restrictions across central Delhi

Traffic restrictions will remain in force between 10 am and 5 pm on Sunday, with diversions at 10 major intersections. According to the Delhi Traffic Police advisory reported by PTI, the diversion points include Netaji Subhash Marg T-Point, Rajghat, Delhi Gate, ITO A-Point, Ajmeri Gate Red Light, Ranjeet Singh Flyover, Bhavbhuti Marg–DDU Marg Red Light, Jhandewalan Roundabout, Turkman Gate and Mirdard Chowk.

Commuters are likely to face congestion on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, Aruna Asaf Ali Road, Minto Road, Desh Bandhu Gupta Road and Barakhamba Road, among other stretches. Bus movement on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, the Rajghat-Jawaharlal Nehru Marg stretch, Desh Bandhu Gupta Road and Minto Road may also be regulated.

A separate passage will be provided near Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital for emergency vehicles. Passengers travelling to New Delhi Railway Station have been advised to plan their journeys in advance. Those approaching from the Desh Bandhu Gupta Road side can use Chelmsford Road, Connaught Place's Outer Circle, Minto Road and Bhavbhuti Marg, PTI reported.

INDIA bloc levels six charges against CEC

The rally follows the INDIA bloc's symbolic “public impeachment” of Kumar at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence on Saturday. Presided over by former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, the proceedings saw Kharge move a resolution listing six charges against the CEC.

According to The Indian Express, the six charges included conspiring to steal elections, deleting 13.2 crore voters during the SIR exercise, rewriting Form 6 without parliamentary approval, using ECINET to control electoral rolls, excluding the other two Election Commissioners from decision-making and acting at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. These are allegations made by the Opposition and have not been established as findings.

Kharge said the right to vote was under threat. “The right to vote, granted to our citizens through universal adult franchise under Article 326 of the Constitution of India, is today in grave danger,” he said during the proceedings.

The exercise was a symbolic political demonstration, not a formal constitutional impeachment or removal proceeding. Under Article 324(5) of the Constitution, the CEC can be removed only in the same manner and on the same grounds as a Supreme Court judge.

The Election Commission has rejected key allegations concerning its decision-making and the SIR process. In a counter-affidavit to the Supreme Court, the ECI said the Commission's major decisions on the SIR had been taken collectively and unanimously by all three commissioners. It also maintained that the additional declaration used during the exercise was a separate document, not an amendment to the statutory Form 6. The Commission acknowledged that displaying the declaration alongside the form online could give the impression that the form had been amended, and said the two had been separated in the online application process from October 21.

BJP rejects allegations, Opposition plans wider protests

The BJP has accused the INDIA bloc of attacking constitutional institutions and questioned Rahul Gandhi's claim that people were being prevented from travelling to Delhi for the rally.

On October 30, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra challenged Gandhi to substantiate the allegation that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was trying to stop supporters from reaching the Capital.

“Who has been stopped? Who stopped whom and where? Show proof,” Patra said, according to PTI. He also accused the Opposition of lacking organisational unity after it postponed the symbolic proceedings from October 30 to October 31. The INDIA bloc had attributed the postponement to heavy rain.

The Opposition plans to submit what it describes as evidence of electoral irregularities to President Droupadi Murmu and continue its campaign in different states. The alliance is demanding Kumar's resignation, a halt to the SIR exercise and the withdrawal of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023.