‘GYANESH IT’S DONE BRO’: OPPOSITION LEADERS MARCH ON ELECTION COMMISSION, DEMAND CEC RESIGNATION

Tue 06 October 2026:

Barricades halt INDIA bloc protest near NITI Aayog; leaders begin sit-in outside Akashvani Bhawan

Rahul Gandhi climbs barriers with tricolour; several MPs reported detained

Opposition parties took to the streets of New Delhi on Tuesday to press for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, in scenes marked by the now-familiar sight of layered security barricades.

Members of Parliament and leaders of the INDIA bloc were halted by security personnel outside the NITI Aayog office. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other opposition figures then started a sit-in on the road in front of Akashvani Bhawan, chanting slogans against the CEC. Reports said several MPs were also taken into a police bus.

Gyanesh, It’s Done Bro.

Time to Resign!!! https://t.co/dpBDDdCo8F

— Congress (@INCIndia) October 6, 2026

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was seen climbing barricades and waving the national flag. Police stopped him as he attempted to enter Akashvani Bhawan.

The approach to Nirvachan Sadan, the Election Commission headquarters, remained heavily barricaded, with police and security forces effectively sealing off access to the building.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was quoted by PTI as having said, “They do this, and because of this, democracy will end in this country, the Constitution will be destroyed, it’ll become like Hitler’s rule, and the entire public will be pushed into slavery. Those who are free today are being pushed back into slavery. That is why all of us in the INDIA alliance are fighting, we will continue to fight, we will achieve it.”

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“We will not stop our protest. CEC Gyanesh Kumar, who was responsible for PM Modi’s illegitimate victory, must resign,” Congress MP Jothimani said at the INDIA bloc protest.

Comparable barricades had appeared a day earlier, when at least 15 prominent former civil servants and activists handed over a “letter of impeachment” to the CEC, urging him to step down over serious allegations about the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists under way since June 2025.

Today, India’s opposition MPs from the INDIA alliance marched from Parliament towards the Election Commission headquarters against CEC Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi.

The march included several opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav. The police stopped the protesters from advancing further by setting up barricades, following which the opposition MPs sat down for a sit-in right there.

Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, protested on Tuesday in New Delhi over allegations that the Election Commission irregularly added and deleted voters from rolls in states like Uttar Pradesh, potentially swaying upcoming polls.

A probe revealed the commission hid details on 16.18 lakh new voters added in UP, despite legal rules to publish the data. The Supreme Court distanced itself from Form 6 changes, issued notices to the ECI and Centre, and plans to review records amid opposition cries of bias toward the ruling BJP. Police halted the march, sparking a sit-in, as the court weighs deeper scrutiny without suspending Kumar.

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) October 6, 2026

The revelations have also provided fresh ammunition to the opposition parties and critics who have repeatedly claimed that SIR is being used to exclude their voters for the BJP’s benefit and that elections in India are no longer free and fair.

India’s Election Commission (ECI) is facing yet another crisis of credibility after a series of fresh allegations of irregularities against its chief.

One of the most trusted public institutions in the world’s largest democracy, the three-member commission is headed by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and includes Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi as commissioners.

The latest row broke out after a report in the Indian Express newspaper said that in the past few months, CEC Kumar had been repeatedly questioned by his two colleagues over the integrity of the voter database, changes to the way new voters are enrolled and the security of the electoral rolls itself.

‘STEALING THE VOTES’: WHY INDIA’S CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER GYANESH KUMAR IS IN THE EYE OF A STORM – AGAIN

The report said that Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi objected to several decisions which were taken without their knowledge. There were at least 14 times in the past 10 months when Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi were kept in the dark, it added.

The BJP has defended CEC Kumar, calling the opposition criticism a “smear campaign” and that dissent was “a sign of a vibrant democracy”.

Party spokesperson Sambit Patra told a press conference that “ever since the Modi government came to power in 2014, opposition parties have been collapsing one after the other”. And because they cannot win elections, they are trying to “undermine the institutions of the country”, he said.

Analysts say the defence of the Election Commission is unlikely to satisfy many, with some pointing out that its statement doesn’t address all the issues raised in the newspaper report and that “CEC Kumar needs to clear the air if we are to view the Commission as an impartial body”.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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