// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Indian opposition leaders march to top court to demand election chief resign
Main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi holds up a copy of India's Constitution at a press conference on Monday
India's opposition parties are marching to the Supreme Court in Delhi to demand the resignation of the election chief over alleged voter fraud.
This will be the latest in a series of demonstrations in Delhi, with thousands of security forces deployed and roads barricaded in the capital.
Attempts to hold a protest by the Cockroach Janata Party pressure group over the weekend led to thousands of demonstrators being detained.
Opposition parties allege that under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, India's voter rolls are being manipulated to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Both the Election Commission and the BJP have rejected the charge.
The opposition lawmakers want to submit a memorandum to Chief Justice Surya Kant, but he has told reporters he declined the meeting citing "certain reasons".
He did not provide the reasons, but media reports citing the letter have said that he pointed out that some of the issues the opposition wanted to raise with him were also pending before the court. The BBC has not seen the letter.
"Every Indian citizen has the right to approach the court, and we will hear their concerns and grant whatever is due under the law," he told reporters.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, meanwhile, has called "all opposition parties, civil society groups [and] all those who believe in democracy" to join Monday's march.
In a press conference on Monday, he shared a letter that he and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had written to the Chief Justice, laying out their concerns with Kumar's alleged conduct and with the contentious electoral roll revision.