INDIA bloc leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and others at Raj Ghat in New Delhi on Thursday (October 8).
CEC row LIVE: INDIA bloc MPs leave Raj Ghat after protest
Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi alleged that PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and CEC Gyanesh Kumar have destroyed the Constitution and asserted that they will be brought to justice for their conspiracy
Opposition leaders of the INDIA bloc on Thursday (October 8) staged a peaceful protest at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Raj Ghat to highlight what it alleged was the "hijacking" of the country by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) through a criminal conspiracy by indulging in 'vote chori'.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi alleged that Modi, Shah, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and CEC Gyanesh Kumar have destroyed the Constitution and asserted that they will be brought to justice for their conspiracy.
Lunch meeting
Rahul said this after Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge hosted a lunch for Opposition MPs and leaders at a restaurant in central Delhi and decided to sit in a peaceful protest at Raj Ghat.
Then they left for Raj Ghat in air-conditioned buses parked outside the restaurant. Some of the leaders and MPs climbed atop the bus in which Rahul Gandhi and Kharge were travelling and were seen waving the tricolour.
Meanwhile, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) launched a major demonstration at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Thursday even as the INDIA bloc intensified its campaign against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with coordinated protests across multiple cities demanding the rollback of voter-list revisions and the resignation of Gyanesh.
In Bengaluru, the CJP protest drew activists, political leaders and civil society groups. Actor Prakash Raj and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee joined the protest, alongside JNU student leader Aishe Ghosh, AISA president Neha Bora, and CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke. Organisers screened video testimonies from individuals who claimed they had been wrongly excluded from electoral rolls during the SIR exercise.
A People’s Tribunal has also been planned to hear grievances related to alleged voter deletions, followed by a symbolic “chappal protest”. The CJP and allied groups demanded that all deletions carried out during the revision be scrapped and that pre-SIR electoral rolls be restored.
INDIA bloc plans another round of protests
The agitation coincided with renewed mobilisation by INDIA bloc parties in Delhi. For the second straight day, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hosted alliance leaders for lunch, amid indications that another round of protests would follow. The meetings came after Wednesday’s dramatic showdown with police, when Opposition leaders attempted to reach Jantar Mantar for a sit-in demanding Kumar’s resignation.
The Delhi protest witnessed tense scenes, with opposition MPs clashing with security personnel after being stopped en route. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several women leaders lay down on the road while holding copies of the Constitution, while Rahul Gandhi resisted attempts by police to detain him. On Thursday, Delhi Police registered an FIR against Rahul, Priyanka and several Congress workers, alleging assault on police personnel and obstruction of official duties during the protest. Police said 91 people, including MPs and senior leaders, had been detained.
Meanwhile, in Patna, INDIA bloc leaders led by Tejashwi Yadav took out an “Aakrosh March” against the SIR exercise. The march was halted near the office of the Chief Electoral Officer as protesters attempted to move towards Lok Bhavan. Several leaders were detained, while former CPI(ML) MLA Ajit Kushwaha reportedly fainted during the demonstration.
Also read:
'Gyanesh must go': Najeeb Jung's 3 suggestions to address EC SIR crisis
Six things to watch as SC examines EC’s decisions
Scroll below for Live updates.
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.
