Published Oct 07, 2026 | 4:19 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 07, 2026 | 4:38 PM
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi head towards Jantar Mantar.
A day after the chaotic protests near the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters in New Delhi, the Congress-led INDIA bloc is planning an agitation at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday, October 7, reiterating its demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, who is facing allegations of “vote theft” through manipulation of electoral rolls.
The protest was announced by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, after a lunch meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders hosted by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. The lunch meeting was held at the Sagar Ratna, a popular restaurant in Delhi‘s Connaught Place.
Emerging from the meeting, Gandhi told reporters, “Like I said yesterday, 300 MPs wanted to meet ECs yesterday but we were not allowed to meet them.”
“So today, our plan is to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar. We want to tell the country that Gyanesh Kumar is not a legitimate CEC. These people are desh-drohi. Gyanesh Kumar has to resign,” he said.
‘वोट चोर’ कहां मिलेंगे
BJP के दफ्तर में https://t.co/fXy7FJdjUI— Congress (@INCIndia) October 7, 2026
Among the Opposition leaders who attended the meeting were Congress leaders KC Venugopal, Manickam Tagore and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, Left leaders P Sandosh Kumar and V Sivadasan, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien and IUML MP Haris Beran.
Also Read: Chaos at Akashvani Bhawan: Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka forcibly removed after hours-long sit-in near ECI
The meeting came a day after the national capital witnessed fierce protests by the Opposition, led by the Congress. The protest started on the morning of October 6, as a march from the Parliament to the ECI office. It was stopped by the police using barricades, following which the Opposition MPs were detained; some of them were also allegedly assaulted by the police.
CPI(M) MP A.A Rahim alleged he was brutally assaulted by the police while being detained and transported in a police vehicle.
In a show of resilience, Rahul Gandhi was seen climbing on top of a barricade amid cheers from his supporters. He then slipped into the Akashvani Bhawan premises, where he and other Congress leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K.C. Venugopal and Pawan Khera, staged a sit-in protest demanding a meeting with the CEC and the Election Commissioners.
After hours of protest, Delhi Police detained the Congress leaders and forcibly removed them from the premises, triggering a commotion.
The protest had been announced as part of the Opposition’s nationwide campaign against CEC Gyanesh Kumar over irregularities in the ECI’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise that led to the deletion of 13 crore voters from the electoral rolls.
The renewed scrutiny over the functioning of the ECI followed an investigative report by the Indian Express, which claimed that the CEC had taken decisions regarding the SIR without informing or despite multiple objections raised by, the other two Election Commissioners.
(Edited by Fayisa CA)
