CEC row LIVE | INDIA bloc MPs to stage bigger protest against Gyanesh Kumar today
Opposition parties step up agitation over alleged SIR irregularities after MPs were stopped from reaching Jantar Mantar on Wednesday
INDIA bloc MPs will stage a bigger protest on the ground on Thursday (October 8) against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, Opposition leaders said on Wednesday, after they were stopped from reaching Jantar Mantar during a coordinated mobilisation involving the members of Parliament of several parties.
The INDIA bloc parties also discussed their efforts to seek a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu. A meeting with a delegation of 15 leaders was sought, while 10 members have been permitted to meet the president, the sources said. Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee is expected to be part of the delegation.
Also read | 'Gyanesh must go': Najeeb Jung's 3 suggestions to address EC SIR crisis
The decision to hold another protest was discussed among the parties on Wednesday, with the leaders saying more MPs would join the agitation.
The opposition parties had worked out a plan to move together after a luncheon meeting hosted by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Three air-conditioned buses were arranged to transport the MPs, with the parties coordinating the movement and ensuring representation from different constituents of the INDIA bloc.
After the meeting, the MPs moved together to the buses parked on Janpath and set off towards Jantar Mantar.
The buses were stopped at Ashoka Road, near the Shangri-La hotel, about two kilometres from Jantar Mantar. The MPs had the option of remaining inside the buses if there was no provocation, but after seeing protesters on the ground, the leaders decided to get off and proceed with the agitation, sources said.
Several Opposition leaders were detained after they staged a sit-in and raised slogans demanding Kumar's resignation.
Also read | Six things to watch as SC examines EC’s decisions
Wednesday's mobilisation came a day after INDIA bloc MPs marched from Parliament towards the Election Commission (EC) headquarters and staged an around-eight-hour sit-in at the Akashvani Bhawan after being stopped by police.
Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several other leaders were detained at the end of the protest.
The opposition parties have been demanding Kumar's resignation over their allegations of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.
(With agency inputs)
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Live Updates
- 8 Oct 2026 8:23 AM IST
Security tightened at Jantar Mantar ahead of INDIA bloc protest against CEC
Security has been tightened around Jantar Mantar and adjoining areas ahead of a planned protest by INDIA bloc MPs against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
- 8 Oct 2026 6:57 AM IST
Every FIR against Rahul Gandhi 'attack' on democratic dissent: Keralam CM
Joining the INDIA bloc protest seeking resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday said that every FIR against the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for questioning electoral integrity is an "attack" on democratic dissent.
Satheesan, who walked from the Kerala House to the protest venue at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, said in an X post "Reached Jantar Mantar to stand with the nation's leader Shri @RahulGandhi Ji and INDIA bloc MPs. "The fight against irregularities in the electoral rolls and for free and fair elections continues. Democracy will not be silenced."
Later, after Rahul was taken into custody by the police, the CM told reporters that officers behaved "brutally and cruelly" with the Opposition leader. He said that Jantar Mantar was a place to hold agitations, but "the Opposition leader in the country" was not being allowed to conduct a "peaceful strike".
"On the way to Jantar Mantar, he was prevented, blocked and brutally manhandled by Delhi Police," Satheesan alleged. He claimed that the process of free and fair elections in the country has "derailed" as crores of voters were removed from the electoral roll.
He further alleged that there is conspiracy between the Election Commission and the Union government and that is why Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is still protected.
- 8 Oct 2026 6:55 AM IST
Delhi Police has no work except registering FIRs: Akhilesh Yadav
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday hit out at the Delhi Police over an FIR filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in connection with the opposition protest in the national capital, saying the police had no work other than registering cases.
Yadav had participated in the opposition protest in New Delhi on Tuesday along with several INDIA bloc leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Asked about the FIR registered against Gandhi over Tuesday's protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Yadav said, "The police have no work except registering FIRs."
In response to another question, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said the country cannot become a developed nation as long as the BJP remains in power. "As long as the BJP remains, a developed India cannot be built. A developed India will be built when the BJP is removed. Only then will Hindustaniyat, humanity and brotherhood survive," he said.
Yadav, leader of the third largest party in Lok Sabha, also posted on X, "Those who fight for the sake of the country do not fear arrest," and claimed, "The BJP itself was the CEC," demanding Kumar's resignation.
- 8 Oct 2026 6:54 AM IST
Centre used 'brute force' to stall anti-CEC protest, alleges Aaditya Thackeray
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday accused the BJP-led central government of using "brute force" and not let Opposition MPs protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi over the SIR process.
In a post on X, he said things are changing, all these "deshdrohis" (traitors) who have damaged India's institutions, its vote, its constitution - read up a bit about Nuremberg Trials --- a series of military tribunals held by the Allied Power after World War II which held accountable top ranking officials of Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler.
"The amount of brute force used by the regime! Only to not let Members of Parliament protest against Gaddaar Gyanesh and deshdrohis supporting the vote theft and election rigging he has enabled!" Thackeray said.
Giving further momentum to his politics of street protest, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday led INDIA bloc leaders to another resistance-packed day -- moving from the Opposition grouping's lunch meeting to near Delhi's Jantar Mantar in a procession of buses for a surprise dharna.
