New Delhi [India], October 12 : Following the INDIA bloc march to the Supreme Court over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi expressed deep gratitude to citizens, party workers and opposition allies who supported the march.
Calling the march a decisive stand against state intimidation, Gandhi launched a sharp critique of the central government, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of resorting to "bullying".
The remarks came after thousands of political workers and civil rights activists marched towards the Supreme Court to protest against alleged voter roll irregularities by the Election Commission of India (ECI) during its SIR process. The march culminated in 11 opposition leaders filing a petition in the apex court challenging the manner in which the Election Commission had taken decisions relating to the SIR of electoral rolls.
"I’d like to thank every single person who came out today for this protest. I'd also like to thank the millions of people who showed support in their own way at 3pm. Thank you to the leaders of the INDIA bloc, all the workers of the Congress party and workers of the INDIA bloc. Today was a very important day because we needed to show the government that the people of India are not going to be intimidated. You cannot beat us, threaten us, frighten us. We will not accept being bullied," Gandhi wrote on X. 
The Congress leader questioned the absence of right-wing groups during public confrontations, who he alleged were "beating" protestors at recent demonstrations.
"I was wondering where the cowards of the RSS who were beating the young children the day before yesterday were. Where were those people? Because I didn’t see them. When we are standing there and when the people of India are standing there, why don’t you come out? Why don’t you wear your little scarves and come out and see what happens?" he said. 
Continuing his attack on the central leadership, Gandhi alleged that government authorities relied solely on state power rather than democratic engagement.
"Because you’re essentially, like the Prime Minister of India, bullies. You cannot stand up. You can only use power to fight. So, it’s very heartening to see what happened. I’m proud of everybody. Everybody worked like a team.  As I said in my press conference, there are no parallel protests. It’s one protest, and it’s a protest where everybody is standing together. Every single person is going to stand against these killers of our Constitution, these killers of our democracy. And we’re not going to back down," he said. 
"I’d also like to thank everybody from civil society organisations who came, supported us. We value your support, and we love all of you. Thank you all for coming out and defending the idea of India, the idea of the Constitution, the idea of our democracy. I’m extremely proud of every single person who came out on the streets. Thank you," he added.
Gandhi’s public statement follows days of escalating tensions between the opposition and government authorities in New Delhi. Ahead of the march to the Supreme Court, police had erected multi-layer security barricades and imposed restrictions across several parts of central Delhi. During earlier protests, police detentions of student activists, civil society figures, and news portal reporters had drawn severe criticism from opposition leaders and civil rights groups.
The central government has hit back at the opposition's allegations. Earlier in the day, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju hit back at the march, accusing the Congress party of being "directionless" and asserting that while peaceful protest is a constitutional right, "brazenly abusing constitutional authorities is deplorable."
Petitioners include Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, CPI(M) MP MA Baby, CPI leader D Raja, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Mahua Majhi, NCP (SCP) MP Supriya Sule and ET Indian Union Muslim League Mohammed Basheer.
The petition, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, seeks suspension of the ongoing SIR exercise across the country pending adjudication of the issues raised. It also seeks the constitution of an independent committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to examine the implementation of the revision exercise and review the technical systems governing electoral rolls and Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
The petitioners have raised questions over the alleged exercise of the Election Commission’s collective powers by the Chief Election Commissioner without the knowledge or concurrence of the other Election Commissioners. They have also sought production of the records relating to the decision to undertake the nationwide SIR, including files, minutes, notings and objections recorded by the commissioners. 
The plea has been filed following a written communication dated October 11 from Chief Justice of India Surya Kant in response to a representation made by Rahul Gandhi and Kharge on October 10. According to the petition, the CJI had indicated that matters raising similar issues were scheduled for hearing on October 13 and assured that any petition filed would be heard at the earliest possible opportunity, in accordance with law. The petitioners have sought consideration of their plea along with connected proceedings already pending before the Supreme Court.