‘Vote chori’ protests: Congress leaders say aim is to put pressure on Supreme Court

In a show of strength on October 12, the Congress party and its allies led tens of thousands of protesters in a procession that was meant to culminate outside the Supreme Court of India.

The choice of destination was not arbitrary. Several Congress leaders told Scroll that the grand old party is trying to put public pressure on the judiciary through street protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The party’s intention is not limited to getting the top court to intervene in favour of the Opposition in the case challenging the special intensive revision of voter lists. It believes that putting pressure on judges will force them to function neutrally, ending what it alleges has been the Supreme Court’s tilt towards the Modi government for the past decade.

The party is hopeful that this, in turn, would help create a level-playing field before the next Lok Sabha elections in 2029.

Politics over judiciary

Rahul Gandhi himself spoke about the judiciary at a news conference the day after the march.

“We have extreme respect for the Supreme Court,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said. “They have a role to play. We hope they will play that role. But we are also political people. No matter what happens, political resistance will...

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