Opposition marches to Rajghat against Chief Election Commissioner
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Protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar continue for the third consecutive day.
Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and MPs from the Congress-led ‘INDIA’ alliance set off for Rajghat in Delhi for protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar for the third consecutive day. The opposition is demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner over irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.
Before departing for Rajghat, Rahul Gandhi told reporters outside the Moets restaurant in Connaught Place,
“For the last two days, we have not been allowed to protest. About 300 MPs want to hold a peaceful sit-in, but on the first day we were stopped near the Election Commission office. Then on the second day, we were stopped from going to Jantar Mantar and our people were beaten.”
Rahul Gandhi further stated that,
“The truth is that Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Mohan Bhagwat, and Gyanesh Kumar have hijacked the country through a criminal conspiracy. They have destroyed the Constitution and stolen votes.”
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had organized lunch for the MPs of the ‘INDIA’ alliance at the same restaurant. After this, the MPs boarded buses and headed towards Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat.
Rahul Gandhi was referring to the police action that took place on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, Delhi police had stopped opposition MPs from reaching the Election Commission office. On Wednesday, they were also prevented from protesting at Jantar Mantar.
Live Update:-
Delhi police stopped Rahul Gandhi and opposition MPs at the gate of Rajghat.
Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and other leaders of the INDIA bloc reached Rajghat.
The preparations for the third day of protests were similar to the second day. On Wednesday, Kharge had invited MPs for lunch at the Sagar Ratna restaurant located on Janpath. This restaurant is about 1.2 kilometers away from Jantar Mantar. After lunch, opposition MPs, led by Rahul Gandhi, boarded three buses to head to the protest site.
In light of the opposition's new protest, security has been tightened in central Delhi. Security has been increased especially around the Election Commission office and the electoral assembly. Additional personnel have also been deployed by Delhi police in Connaught Place.
Meanwhile, Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal stated on Thursday that
the ‘INDIA’ alliance has requested an appointment to meet President Droupadi Murmu and is awaiting a response from the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The first letter for the meeting was sent on October 2. Subsequently, the Rashtrapati Bhavan office requested the names of the leaders who would attend the meeting.
Venugopal said,
“We sent a second request with the names of the leaders on October 5 and asked for an appointment on October 7, 8, or 9. We have not received any response yet. We will wait until Friday.”
On this occasion, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge stated that they are going to Rajghat to pray to Bapu to grant wisdom to the government.
Many Congress workers were already shouting slogans at Rajghat. A heavy police force has also been deployed. The police have enforced Section 163 of the Indian National Security Code (BNSS) here, which prohibits gatherings of more than five people. After the second lunch meeting of opposition MPs, Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, along with MPs from the INDIA bloc, departed by bus to stage a sit-in at Gandhi Smriti.
Mallikarjun Kharge stated that,
the leaders of the INDIA bloc will go to the Gandhi memorial to hold a peaceful sit-in. He said that they will pray there for the BJP government, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, to understand that their decisions are not in the national interest.
Kharge said that vote theft, rising inflation, youth issues, and other crises are against the interests of the people. He alleged that the government is trying to take away the rights and freedoms that leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, and Sardar Patel achieved for the country.
Meanwhile, according to sources in the Delhi police,
at least two new FIRs have been registered in connection with the INDIA alliance's protest in central Delhi on Wednesday (October 7, 2026) against the revision of voter lists and the demand for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Several Congress leaders, including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, have been named in these FIRs.
In the meantime, the Indian Youth Congress has approached the Delhi High Court against the Delhi police's refusal to allow the protest at Jantar Mantar. This protest was proposed against the alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process concerning Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The court has agreed to hear the petition on Friday.