At a press conference in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi, who leads the Opposition, laid out the goals behind a planned march to the Supreme Court. A petition targeting Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar formed the centrepiece of the procession, with Gandhi describing the move as a defence of constitutional principles.
Gandhi alleged that around 200 personnel drawn from the Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation, and the Ministry of External Affairs had been passing along information to Opposition figures. Security personnel across the police force, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and allied units had, according to Gandhi, conveyed unhappiness about being directed toward student protesters while certain other groups faced no such restrictions.
Roughly half of all serving officers held views in line with the Opposition's stance, Gandhi contended, adding that a number of those personnel had reached out to him personally to express that position.
The march, Gandhi explained, was aimed at lodging a formal petition before the Supreme Court targeting Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. He put forward the position that the grievances articulated by Opposition members mirrored issues the other two Election Commissioners had already brought to attention.
Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval were providing cover for Gyanesh Kumar. Invoking the President of India's recent remarks, Gandhi put forward a reading of those words as backing for the Opposition's stance on what he termed "Vote Chori," while also noting that the Chief Justice of India had taken up the Opposition's grievances and instructed them to bring a formal petition before the Supreme Court.
With a potential prohibition on the march looming, Gandhi urged supporters unable to attend in person to amplify their views through social media platforms. The appeal, he added, reached members of the press as well — some of whom, in his view, may have received instructions to stay away from the march or avoid reporting on it.
According to Gandhi, the opposition effort had been gathering momentum across roughly a dozen years and was finally taking shape in practical action. Gandhi spoke to reporters about the visible concentration of police and security forces stationed around Delhi before the march, telling them that a number of individuals had been detained — a development he characterised as an effort to prevent people from assembling.
His comments were directed at the Chief Election Commissioner, with Gandhi asserting that those in opposition held knowledge of a track record tied to corruption allegations and that accountability would come.