CEC-SIR protest LIVE: Rahul says INDIA bloc’s next move a ‘surprise’; Shah tells Cong to introspect
After meeting INDIA bloc leaders and civil society members, the LoP says the movement will continue until those accused of electoral fraud are brought to justice
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday (October 13) said he would not reveal the Opposition parties’ next move amid the CEC-SIR row, saying that doing so would spoil the excitement and sense of surprise for citizens. “Our movement will go till the end goal. How? That is a surprise,” he said.
“Sooner or later, whether tomorrow, the day after, in three months, six months, a year or two years, it will not stop. It will reach the end goal. I cannot tell you exactly how we will get there, because that would spoil the surprise, and we want to maintain the excitement and sense of surprise for you and the country. But I guarantee you that, just as we mobilised with such energy, strength and unity, we will continue to fight together in the same spirit,” he said.
High tea at Rahul's residence
Addressing reporters after deliberations with INDIA bloc and civil society members at his residence, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha said this is the Opposition’s commitment that the people who have indulged in “vote chori” would be brought to justice, naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
Rahul had hosted Opposition leaders of the grouping together with civil society members and students’ leaders at his residence for tea. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and several opposition leaders, including Tejashwi Yadav and Manoj Jha of the RJD, Mahua Maji (JMM), Harender Malik, Anand Bhadauria and Mohibullah Nadvi (SP), M A Baby (CPI-M), D Raja and P Sandosh Kumar (CPI), AISA chief Neha Bora, Dipankar Bhattacharya (CPI-ML) and Mahua Moitra (TMC), attended the tea at Rahul Gandhi's 5, Sunehri Bagh Road, residence.
The LoP also said that they had extreme respect for the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and hoped they would play their role in this process. “No matter what happens, no matter which institution plays a role or not, political resistance will continue, people’s resistance will continue and it will triumph,” he said.
The meeting came a day after Opposition leaders, joined by activists and civil society members, undertook a "March for Democracy" on a heavily-barricaded route and filed a joint petition against the SIR of electoral rolls and alleged poll irregularities in a major show of strength in the national capital.
SC gives Centre more time to file response
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court extended time till October 15 for the filing of response by the Centre on a batch of petitions arising from the closure of Metro stations and disruptions in train services in Delhi ahead of October 10 protests against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
A bench of Chief Justice (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, which was scheduled to conduct the crucial hearing on a litany of petitions, deferred the hearing to Thursday as Justice Mohana was indisposed.
Read our stories on the topic here
DMK-Congress feud: SIR becomes flashpoint in Tamil Nadu’s new political equation
Opportunism or long game? Why Akhilesh Yadav picked a Modi fan as SP’s RS candidate
What Rahul Gandhi's SIR petition in SC asks, and why sceptics doubt it
Foreign hand in anti-SIR protests? Prove it, or drop it, Mr Nabin
Indian voter is angry, but Gyanesh Kumar can still atone for his ‘crimes’
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- 13 Oct 2026 8:13 AM IST
TMC's protest march today in Kolkata against Centre, EC
The Mamata Banerjee-faction of Trinamool Congress (TMC) has called for a protest rally in Kolkata today against the Centre and the Election Commission (EC), a day after staging a demonstration in New Delhi, with the party planning to march from Rajabazar to Park Circus in the metropolis.
There was, however, no clarity on whether former chief minister Mamata Banerjee would join the protest, or whether police permission to stage the demonstration was obtained.
The rally, scheduled to begin at 2 pm, has been described as a “massive protest march” by the party against the recent developments in the national capital, including the demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s removal and alleged police action on protesters.
“The march has been organised by the student and youth wings of our party. I will join the protest march, although I have little idea whether Didi (Banerjee) will be able to make it, given her current engagements in Delhi,” said party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh.
Asked whether the party has secured police permission for the rally, Ghosh said, “I am not sure. But, it would be safe to presume that we will not get the green signal from police.”
