As the top leadership of the INDIA bloc on Monday climbed onto a Tricolour-decked open truck to lead the Opposition’s march to the Supreme Court, a small group of student leaders from across the political spectrum accompanied them.
Neha Bora, president of AISA – the students’ front of CPIML – and one of the top student leaders were also invited on the truck. Her party colleague and former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president N Sai Balaji also shared the platform. The protesters are seeking Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. The Congress has always been skeptical of the new outfit and dubbed it as a front of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). In July, the CJP had played a key role in forcing then education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign amid protests over the NEET-UG paper leak but Gandhi and the Congress establishment gave full credit to the students for the success. All Opposition leaders and lawmakers, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, RJD chief Tejaswi Yadav and CPIM general secretary MA Baby, also met at the Constitution Club to finalise the draft petition and to decide the course of action.
The march from Barakhamba Road was initially scheduled to be held at 1.30pm but did not start before 4pm.
A senior Congress leader said it was a calculated move to bring the students on board as it widens the opposition base in the protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. These powerful visuals, according to a second Congress leader, also suggest an attempt to sideline the CJP.
It was a new spectacle. Last week, the marches by opposition MPs were backed by enthusiastic supporters, primarily drawing from the Congress’ frontal bodies.
