New Delhi: Around 5:30 pm, Bhagwan Das Road was packed with people streaming in from the Mandi House side. Some were perched on trees and some sat on buses, waving flags as INDIA bloc politicians passed by on a truck. A little ahead, at the end of the road, cops stood behind barricades blocking the stretch leading to Tilak Lane. As they secured the barriers with a rope, hundreds of police and paramilitary personnel advanced towards the gathering.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav were among those present. The bus also carried K C Venugopal, Tejashwi Yadav, Supriya Sule, Dipankar Bhattacharya, Sanjay Raut, MA Baby, D Raja, DK Shivakumar, Revanth Reddy, Dharmendra Yadav, Sachin Pilot, Abhishek Singhvi, Saugata Roy, V Sivadasan and Deepender Hooda, along with Yogendra Yadav, Neha Bora and Sai Balaji.
People started pushing and pulling as security personnel — officers said more than 10,000 personnel had been deployed in and around New Delhi — moved into the crowd. On Bhagwan Das Road, many climbed onto a line of parked police vehicles and buses, shouting and cheering as the INDIA bloc members waved back at them. Flags of NSUI, Youth Congress, AISA, AISF and SP fluttered above the crowd. Police then began directing the supporters to one side.
From now on, he won’t be allowed to misuse his position.
“ Vote chor, gaddi chhor ” echoed along the stretch. Another chant, “ Ek kachori, do samosa, in teeno ka kya bharosa ”, seemed to target PM Modi, home minister Amit Shah and the CEC. Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Devender Yadav said, “As long as this vote thief (CEC Kumar) does not step down, this movement will continue”.
Some turned up wearing Batman masks, referencing a viral meme depicting Rahul as the superhero. He added, “We have been fighting this battle for a long time. But BJP has been protecting the CEC as he acts at the behest of Modi and Shah to indulge in malpractices to steal elections by robbing people’s verdict. He has committed anti-national and anti-people sins from which he cannot escape. He will be made to pay for his crimes through this people’s movement.”