The Opposition on Monday led thousands of people who flooded central Delhi for three hours in protest against chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, marking one of the largest political mobilisations in recent years that followed two days of police crackdown on agitators.
Congress Party is direction-less now. It also alleged that election officials found their access to the ECI software curtailed by the central IT team. After the march started, Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejaswi Yadav, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Neha Bora, NCP-SP leader Supriya Sule, SP leader Dharmendra Yadav, Forward Bloc leader G Deverajan and Congress general secretary KC Venugopal shifted to an open-top vehicle. Karnataka chief minister DK Shivakumar was also there while a massive crowd followed the leaders throughout the one-hour journey. “We don’t want the government to ignore us.
The petition — which named the Election Commission of India, Kumar and two other election commissioners as respondents — was flagged for 14 defects, including a ₹ 220 shortfall in court fees, an illegible photocopy of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s identity card and missing vakalatnamas for nine of the 11 petitioners. But they can improve their numbers if they have a matured and committed leader who doesn’t enjoy spending 200 holidays in a year! The show of strength – which included 16 parties – was part of the Opposition’s plan to mount pressure on Kumar over SIR and other allegations. The developments come after an Indian Express investigation said election commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded written dissents and objections at least 14 times between November 2025 and August 2026 and even written to the cabinet secretary. At 6.45pm, Gandhi, Kharge, Shivakumar, SP’s Rajiv Rai and a large number of Opposition leaders reached the Supreme Court. It took 2.45 hours to cover the 2 km distance between Barakhamba Road and the Supreme Court. Devesh, a 21-year-old college student and SFI activist, said he was detained on Saturday but returned despite bruises.
In an X post, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said, “Protest is the right of every citizen but brazenly abusing constitutional authorities is deplorable. ECI said differing views and observations were a normal part of deliberation and that all its digital platforms operated under strict data security protocols. It has been doing so by not allowing us to protest, which is making us even angrier,” he said.
Opposition seeks independent probe into CEC
Two student leaders — Neha Bora of the All India Student Association and former Jawaharlal Nehru University students union president N Sai Balaji — shared the stage with the Opposition brass. With the festive season ahead, parties have decided that individual parties will continue the protests as the entire Opposition might find it difficult to assemble. “Look, the festive seasons are coming. But our protests will not stop.
A senior Opposition leader said it was to acknowledge the student stirs. Instead of a common protest by all Opposition parties, individual parties will take up the issues in their own way,” Trinamool Congress’s Derek O’Brien said. He added that there were no Opposition meetings on Tuesday.
We are here to support Rahul ji,” said Lakshya Singh, 21, a Congress worker. “We have been living in Delhi for decades now but my sister’s vote was deleted from the voter’s list. We are all angry. Many young students have been detained.
I have brought my entire family here today.
