Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: The INDIA bloc will march to the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Friday, in what would be the fourth straight day of the Opposition's protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise. Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal had said on Thursday that the Oppposition leaders had requested an appointment from President Droupadi Murmu and were awaiting response. He said the first letter was sent on October 2, and a request was submitted again on October 5, along with names. “So far, we have received no response. We will wait until Friday,” Venugopal said, according to PTI news agency.
On Thursday, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi and other INDIA bloc MPs visited the Gandhi Smarak in Rajghat after a lunch meeting. They staged a sit-in at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial, alleging “vote chori”.
'Protecting India's Constitution, democracy': Rahul Gandhi
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, in a post on X late on Thursday, said the “process” of “protecting India's Constitution, democracy, and its voice” had begun, while adding that it was the “responsibility” of every Indian.
“The Process of delivering justice to the people of Hindustan. The Process of restoring faith in democracy. The Process of ensuring punishment for the traitors,” Rahul said, adding “and now, this is not going to stop.”
CJP's parallel stir against CEC
The Cockroach Janta Party held a protest at Bengaluru’s Freedom Park. As thousands gathered on Thursday, CJP convenor Abhijeet Dipke said Prime Minister Narendra Modi “may have the power now, but we have the streets and we will reclaim our power from here.”
At the “People’s Tribunal” organised by civil society groups and the CJP, Dipke alleged that the deletion of voters was being used to disenfranchise people opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and actor-activist Prakash Raj were also present and addressed the gathering.
CJP has also called a protest on October 10 at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, with security being stepped up in the Capital ahead of the demonstration. Around 11,000 additional personnel from the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) are being deployed in Delhi for the next few days.
What happened over three days of protest?
INDIA bloc finalised its joint action as it began its protest on Tuesday, when over 300 Opposition MPs marched to the Election Commission office. Amid the demonstration, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi climbed atop barricades and waved the Tricolour.
When they weren't allowed to proceed, some of the Opposition MPs, including Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, staged a sit-in inside Akashvani Bhawan complex. The poll body, meanwhile, said it had not received any appointment request from the Opposition till 4 pm on Tuesday. It further denied the request citing protocol.
On Wednesday, the INDIA bloc leaders staged a protest at the roundabout near Shangri-La hotel in central Delhi after they were stopped by the police and forcibly removed and detained. The Opposition leaders gathered at Rajghat on Thursday and offered floral tributes there as they continued their agitation.
Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Senior Congress leader and former union minister P Chidambaram cited what he said were figures related to appeals against electoral roll deletions in West Bengal under SIR, claiming 91-93 per cent of the appeals disposed of by tribunals were allowed.
“Unfortunately, few who debate the rights and wrongs of the SIR exercise make their arguments based on facts,” he said in a post on X. He said, “In West Bengal, nearly 27 lakhs were removed from the electoral rolls under S.I.R. Of these, 22,21,196 filed appeals to Tribunals A little over 1 lakh appeals were disposed of by the Tribunals. (The number is reported to be 1,26,000 appeals).”
He added, “91-93% of the appeals were ALLOWED and the names were directed to be re-included in the electoral rolls That is the damning evidence against the S.I.R. exercise.”
Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: In a post on X, Congress MP and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi said the “process” of “protecting India's Constitution, democracy, and its voice…has already begun."
“The Process of delivering justice to the people of Hindustan. The Process of restoring faith in democracy. The Process of ensuring punishment for the traitors. And now, this is not going to stop,” Rahul added.
Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee arrived in Delhi on Thursday evening to join the INDIA bloc march to Rashtrapati Bhawan.
A request for an appointment with the President has been made,” she said before leaving for Delhi. Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien said the Opposition was united in its agitation. “...After two days of protest on the streets, we decided to have a peaceful dharna at Raj Ghat (on Thursday)... More parties will join tomorrow (Friday). We will go to Rashtrapati Bhavan,” he said.
Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: The Rashtrapati Bhavan is yet to finalise the Opposition’s appointment with the President, who has been in Himachal Pradesh for three days now, people aware of the matter told HT.
This comes after Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said on Thursday that the first letter was sent on October 2, and a request was submitted again on October 5, along with names. “So far, we have received no response. We will wait until Friday,” Venugopal said, according to PTI news agency.
Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: While members of the Opposition have been criticising the SIR since its beginning, the renewed protests come after an Indian Express investigation.
The report said election commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected least 14 times between November 2025 and August 2026 over the panel’s decisions on SIR and even written to the cabinet secretary. It also alleged that election officials found their access to the ECI software curtailed by the central IT team. In response, ECI said differing views and observations were a normal part of deliberation and that all its digital platforms operated under strict data security protocols.
Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Nearly 200 Opposition lawmakers participated in the sit-in protest on Thursday. This included Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
The Samajwadi Party (SP), the second-largest constituent of the bloc, which was not part of Wednesday’s protest, also joined the sit-in at Rajghat.
Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: On the third day of their stir on Thursday, nearly 200 Opposition lawmakers held a sit-in protest at Rajghat, highlighting what they described as the “hijacking” of the country by Kumar allegedly at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Opposition MPs met for an all-vegetarian lunch at Moets in the Outer Circle of Connaught Place and from there, boarded three buses at around 3:30pm to head to the Mahatma Gandhi memorial.
Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: The Opposition plans to march to Rashtrapati Bhavan and meet President Droupadi Murmu on Friday to press for chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
According to people aware of the matter, INDIA bloc lawmakers plan to march from Parliament to Rashtrapati Bhavan to meet the President over “mass disenfranchisement” through the SIR.
