Following the INDIA bloc march to the Supreme Court over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi expressed deep gratitude to citizens, party workers and opposition allies who supported the march. Calling the march a decisive stand against state intimidation, Gandhi launched a sharp critique of the central government, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of resorting to "bullying". The remarks came after thousands of political workers and civil rights activists marched towards the Supreme Court to protest against alleged voter roll irregularities by the Election Commission of India (ECI) during its SIR process. The march culminated in 11 opposition leaders filing a petition in the apex court challenging the manner in which the Election Commission had taken decisions relating to the SIR of electoral rolls.

beating protestors
"I’d like to thank every single person who came out today for this protest. I'd also like to thank the millions of people who showed support in their own way at 3pm. Thank you to the leaders of the INDIA bloc, all the workers of the Congress party and workers of the INDIA bloc. Today was a very important day because we needed to show the government that the people of India are not going to be intimidated. You cannot beat us, threaten us, frighten us. We will not accept being bullied," Gandhi wrote on X. The Congress leader questioned the absence of right-wing groups during public confrontations, who he alleged were "beating" protestors at recent demonstrations. "I was wondering where the cowards of the RSS who were beating the young children the day before yesterday were.

killers of our Constitution
Where were those people? Because I didn’t see them. When we are standing there and when the people of India are standing there, why don’t you come out? Why don’t you wear your little scarves and come out and see what happens?" he said. Continuing his attack on the central leadership, Gandhi alleged that government authorities relied solely on state power rather than democratic engagement. "Because you’re essentially, like the Prime Minister of India, bullies. You cannot stand up. You can only use power to fight. So, it’s very heartening to see what happened. I’m proud of everybody. Everybody worked like a team. As I said in my press conference, there are no parallel protests. It’s one protest, and it’s a protest where everybody is standing together. Every single person is going to stand against these killers of our Constitution, these killers of our democracy. And we’re not going to back down," he said.

multi-layer security barricades
"I’d also like to thank everybody from civil society organization's who came, supported us. We value your support, and we love all of you. Thank you all for coming out and defending the idea of India, the idea of the Constitution, the idea of our democracy. I’m extremely proud of every single person who came out on the streets. Thank you," he added. Gandhi’s public statement follows days of escalating tensions between the opposition and government authorities in New Delhi. Ahead of the march to the Supreme Court, police had erected multi-layer security barricades and imposed restrictions across several parts of central Delhi.

opposition's allegations
During earlier protests, police detentions of student activists, civil society figures, and news portal reporters had drawn severe criticism from opposition leaders and civil rights groups. The central government has hit back at the opposition's allegations. Earlier in the day, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju hit back at the march, accusing the Congress party of being "directionless" and asserting that while peaceful protest is a constitutional right, "brazenly abusing constitutional authorities is deplorable." Petitioners include Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saugata Roy