Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and 10 other INDIA bloc leaders on Monday filed a joint petition in the Supreme Court against the alleged large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, even as thousands joined the Opposition’s “Chalo Delhi-March for Democracy”.The plea has sought suspension of the SIR and setting up of a committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to audit voter deletions, scrutinise access to electoral-roll databases and review EVM-related processes against global best practices.The march, which began at 1.30 pm, saw Opposition leaders challenge heavy security deployment and multiple barricades on the Bhagwan Das Marg while demanding accountability from Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged “vote chori”.The petition was filed in the evening by the Congress legal team, with Rahul as the lead petitioner. The other petitioners are Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, CPI general secretary D Raja, JMM MP Mahua Majhi, CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby and IUML leader ET Mohammed Basheer.The petition has made the Election Commission, CEC and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi parties in the case.The legal challenge unfolded alongside a major mobilisation in central Delhi. INDIA bloc leaders, supporters and activists assembled at Constitution Club before travelling in four buses to Connaught Place. From there, they began a march towards the Supreme Court via Mandi House, led by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and AISA chief Neha Bora.The procession was halted on the Bhagwan Das Marg, 600 m from the court, where the police had erected multiple layers of barricades and deployed personnel in large numbers. Protesters breached the first barricade but were stopped after security was reinforced, preventing them from moving further towards the court.As the police blocked the march, Rahul, Priyanka, Akhilesh and Tejashwi climbed atop a vehicle, amid cheers from supporters who waved party flags and raised slogans against the government and the CEC. The leaders accused the Election Commission of facilitating voter deletions and electoral manipulation, and alleged restrictions had been imposed to prevent people from joining the demonstration.The protest drew leaders from across the INDIA bloc allies, including Rahul, Kharge, Priyanka, Akhilesh, Tejashwi, D Raja, MA Baby, Supriya Sule, Sanjay Raut, CPI(ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya and Basheer. Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor, Sachin Pilot and Mukul Wasnik, TMC leader Sagarika Ghosh, activists Yogendra Yadav and Nandita Narayan, and Bora were also present.Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy also joined the demonstration. Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said the agitation would continue until Kumar stepped down. “This is only the beginning. This agitation will continue until CEC Gyanesh Kumar resigns,” Venugopal said.Akhilesh said democracy would survive only when the BJP was voted out of power. Tejashwi said, “The people of the nation will not forget them. We have all united to save democracy and the Constitution. It is time to punish them.”Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi alleged that voter lists had been manipulated and elections “looted” in Haryana, Assam and Bihar. He warned that Punjab could be next.Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh termed the “save democracy” protest crucial and condemned the treatment of youth and women demonstrators by security personnel. “It shows the government’s scant regard for rules. The Supreme Court has also taken cognisance of the matter,” he said.The march followed the Supreme Court’s refusal to grant Rahul and Kharge a meeting with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who cited the pendency of similar matters before the court. The Opposition had sought an appointment to submit a memorandum alleging electoral malpractice, demanding Kumar’s resignation, a halt to the SIR exercise and a return to paper ballots. Following the refusal, the leaders opted for the legal route by filing the petition.“The fight against vote theft will continue. INDIA’s battle will go on. The sea of people stands witness. Modi-Shah’s accountability will be fixed for sure,” Kharge said.Congress MP and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi rejected suggestions that the lawyers’ march was linked to the request for a meeting with the CJI.“You are totally mistaken. This has nothing to do with the CJI meet. We made the request yesterday and already knew we would not be allowed to meet the CJI. More than 300-400 lawyers of our department, along with a large number of concerned citizens participated in the march. We are only showing we are filing a petition, and this includes leaders from diverse Opposition parties,” Singhvi said.The latest mobilisation follows a series of confrontations between the Opposition and police over protests against the Election Commission. Last week, INDIA bloc leaders marching from Parliament to the EC were stopped by police, prompting Rahul to stage an eight-hour sit-in at the Akashvani Bhawan complex. Subsequent attempts to protest at Jantar Mantar were also blocked, after which Opposition leaders marched to Rajghat.The campaign has also gained momentum amid reports of differences within the Election Commission, with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi reportedly recording objections on multiple occasions over the past 10 months, including on the SIR exercise.