CEC row LIVE: INDIA bloc MPs leave Raj Ghat after protest

Kamal Haasan urges Gyanesh Kumar to meet Opposition MPs

MNM founder and Rajya Sabha MP Kamal Haasan urged Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to meet Opposition MPs at Samvidhan Bhavan, the old Parliament building.

Haasan said a direct dialogue was needed to address concerns raised by Opposition parties over the Election Commission and its independence.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Haasan described the Election Commission as the “guardian of every Indian's right to vote”.

He said the poll panel should engage with elected representatives at a time when Opposition parties have questioned its credibility.

Haasan’s remarks came amid the Opposition’s ongoing campaign against Gyanesh Kumar and its demand for greater accountability from the Election Commission.

Kharge to host second lunch for INDIA Bloc leaders In Delhi

For the second consecutive day, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will host a lunch for INDIA bloc leaders in Delhi on Thursday, PTI reported, quoting sources. The lunch is scheduled at Moets in Connaught Place at 1:45 pm.

According to the report, the meeting could be followed by a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The move comes a day after Rahul Gandhi led Opposition leaders from a lunch at Sagar Ratna in Janpath towards Jantar Mantar, where they planned to stage a protest. Police stopped the procession and detained Rahul and other leaders.

“We are not going to stop protesting till (Chief Election Commissioner) Gyanesh Kumar resigns. This is a fight to protect the most sacred thing in this country. There is nothing that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah can do that will stop us,” Rahul had said.

The previous protest saw Opposition MPs stopped near the Shangri-La hotel, with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra lying on the road holding a copy of the Constitution. Rahul resisted attempts by police to detain him as Opposition leaders clashed with security personnel.

DK Shivakumar backs Rahul, alleges voter deletion bid in Karnataka

Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar backed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s campaign over electoral issues and alleged attempts were being made to delete voters’ names in the state.

“Rahul Gandhi is doing a great job... What has happened in the entire country has already been exposed by the members of the Election Commission. Even the courts have agreed. I am very thankful to the courts. Justice has been done, and the proper directions have been given,” Shivakumar said as quoted by ANI.

He alleged that forms used to seek deletion of voters had been printed at a BJP office.

“In my state, they are trying to delete more than lakhs of voters. Their application, form seven, has been printed somewhere in the BJP headquarters,” he said.

Shivakumar said his government filed a complaint after learning about the alleged activity and claimed the forms were later withdrawn.

“After knowing this, we filed a complaint; immediately, they approached many of the BLOs and took back the forms. They have taken back the forms,” he said.

Questioning the alleged actions, Shivakumar asked, “Is this not a crime? Before murder, murder was supposed to happen...”

Tejashwi Yadav climbs barricade during INDIA Bloc march in Patna

Bihar LoP Tejashwi Yadav climbs over a barricade while leading the INDIA bloc’s march to Lok Bhavan.

Tejashwi Yadav: ‘Govt protecting Gyanesh Kumar, but people will punish’

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav joined the Opposition’s protest march to Raj Bhavan, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Yadav accused the government of shielding the CEC and said the Opposition was being stopped from proceeding amid heavy barricading.

“The government is protecting Gyanesh Kumar. There is barricading everywhere, we are not being allowed to move,” Yadav told reporters as quoted by the Hindustan Times.

He said the Opposition’s campaign would continue despite the restrictions, and warned those involved in alleged electoral wrongdoing of facing public punishment.

“However, people will definitely punish 'vote chors' no matter how much the administration tries to save them. Those who are conspiring to finish the democracy will be punished,” he said.

CJP to hold 'people's tribunal' on SIR in Bengaluru

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee will participate in a "people's tribunal" on the SIR of electoral rolls here on Thursday and "victims of SIR" from across Karnataka are expected to attend. This will be followed by a "chappal protest."

Actor-activist Prakash Raj will also participate in the event to be held at Freedom Park here.

"People's Tribunal by Cockroaches (Cockroach Janata Party)... Dipke... Ashutosh... Sourav and all the youth organisations and the civil society... the victims of SIR from across the state will be present," Raj said on Wednesday.

"Requesting all the citizens to participate in this fight to save our democracy. Come join us tomorrow, 8th October at Freedom Park... Bengaluru," he said. In a video, Raj said Dhruv Rathee, an influencer, would attend the event.

Rathee also uploaded a video on his 'X' account confirming his participation in the programme and said the fight was to save democracy.

CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka had also announced on 'X' on October 6 that after attending the people's tribunal on SIR, they would interact with Kannadigas who have allegedly been wrongfully removed from the voters list.

ECINET was designed to centralise all deletions, additions from BJP HQ: Cong

The Congress on Thursday attacked the BJP over the alleged "flaws" in the ECINET application, saying it is becoming abundantly clear that it was designed to centralise all deletions and additions from the ruling party's headquarters in New Delhi.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X the screenshot of a media report which quoted a security researcher as saying that he warned the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the country's cyber-security agency, CERT-In, about flaws in the Commission's voter-services website and its ECINET app in July.

In his post on X, Ramesh said, "A leading daily reports this morning that on July 8, 2026 a security researcher had brought several flaws in ECINET to the attention of the Election Commission. But acknowledgement of one of his several concerns came only on October 6, 2026 when the ECI was under all-round fire and attack."

"It is becoming abundantly clear that ECINET was designed to centralise all deletions/additions from BJP HQs in New Delhi," Ramesh alleged. "Incidentally this researcher is the same young man who had completely exposed the CBSE's IT system a few months back that had, among other things, sealed the fate of Mantri Pradhan. It is now the turn of Pradhan Mantri," the Congress leader said.

Police book Rahul, Priyanka over alleged assault during INDIA bloc protest

Delhi police have registered an FIR against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for allegedly assaulting police personnel and obstructing government work during their protest here, police sources said on Thursday.

Besides several Congress leaders, the FIR has been filed against party workers who took part in the protest

The case was registered in connection with the incidents that took place during the Congress protest in Delhi on Wednesday. Police are examining the allegations and the role of those involved, the sources said. Police said a total of 91 people were detained during the protest, including multiple MPs and leaders.

Rahul Gandhi led the INDIA bloc leaders' street protests on Wednesday before being detained again along with many MPs by police.

Police stopped the protesters midway while they were heading in buses for a surprise sit-in at Jantar Mantar after a lunch meeting at a South Indian vegetarian restaurant on Janpath, leading to the intense face-off.

Karnataka Congress to observe 'Black Day' against party leaders' detention

The KPCC will hold protests across the state on Thursday as part of the Congress' nationwide call to observe a "Black Day" for Indian democracy over the detention of the party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra.

The protests will be held at the state, district and block/mandal levels, with the main demonstration scheduled at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office on Queen's Road here from 10.30 am. Similar protests will be organised at District Congress Committee (DCC) and Block Congress Committee (BCC) offices across Karnataka.

The CJP will also to hold ''people''s tribunal'' in Bengaluru on Thursday.

The Congress had declared October 8 a "Black Day" following the detention and alleged manhandling of Opposition leaders during protests over the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

"The assault on the Leader of the Opposition and elected representatives is an assault on the Constitution itself," the KPCC said, reiterating the party's demand for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and restoration of what it described as "full integrity" to the electoral system.

Congress in Keralam to hold democracy protection meets on Oct 9

The KPCC will organise democracy protection meetings at all district headquarters on Friday against the detention of its leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, during their protest in Delhi over the revision of electoral rolls.

KPCC general secretary (organisation) Neyyattinkara Sanal said the meetings would be organised under the leadership of the respective District Congress Committees (DCCs), according to a party statement.

He alleged that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha members Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and K C Venugopal, Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan and other leaders, MPs and elected representatives were subjected to police action while peacefully protesting to protect democracy.