On 12 October, BJP Rajya Sabha member K Laxman directed his objections at the Congress party over its decision to hold a protest march against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The remarks, delivered in a public forum, portrayed the Congress as lacking coherent policy direction and characterised its communication around the SIR process as misleading to voters.
In a television interview, Laxman argued that the Special Intensive Revision had been conducted several times under Congress-led governments without objection from the party. He also contended that Congress and Rahul Gandhi had little in the way of policy to present to voters.
Some critics have raised questions about whether the Special Intensive Revision process is being conducted transparently, with concerns that the public may not be receiving a full picture of how it operates. Records show the same procedure was carried out eight times during periods when the Congress party held governmental authority, a fact the party itself would be aware of.
Laxman contended that the matter being raised had no real substance behind it. Pointing to figures released by the Election Commission, he expressed confidence that voters would make their views known through the ballot box.
Laxman put forward the view that the opposing side had deliberately stirred unrest, arguing that an inability to mount a credible political contest against the BJP left them with little other recourse. Despite the controversy, the opposing side chose to escalate tensions, a response that Laxman said voters would address through the ballot box.
The remarks came just ahead of a planned march by opposition figures and parliamentarians toward the Supreme Court, forming part of their broader push against what they described as irregularities in the SIR process and their call for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to step down. Representatives from a number of INDIA bloc parties had been anticipated to attend and put forward their grievances.
Barricades went up at several points across central Delhi as part of advance preparations. Six metro stations — Patel Chowk, Janpath, Rajiv Chowk, Mandi House, Central Secretariat, and Barakhamba Road — had their passenger entry and exit points shut throughout a ten-hour window on 12 October, running from 6:00 AM until 4:00 PM, owing to security arrangements in place at the time.
Forces drawn from the Rapid Action Force, the Central Reserve Police Force, and Delhi Police took up positions at a string of locations across the area, with Barakhamba Road near Mandi House among the sites covered.
