CEC Gyanesh Kumar row highlights: 'Black day for democracy' says Congress after MPs detained, vows protest tomorrow

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: The Opposition MP's will protest at Jantar Mantar today. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “So, today, our plan is to go to the designated protest site, Jantar Mantar, and sit there together once again, and tell the country that, for us, Gyanesh Kumar is not the legitimate Election Commissioner of the country.”

He added, “I have 45 FIRs against me. My goal is to have 100. I want 100 FIRs to be registered against me. Every FIR is a medal for me,” news agency PTI reported.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: After lunch at Sagar Ratna with Opposition MPs, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi said, “As I said yesterday, approximately 300 MPs wanted to meet the Chief Election Commissioner, but they told us that we could not hold a protest there. So, today, our plan is to go to the designated protest site, Jantar Mantar, and sit there together once again, and tell the country that, for us, Gyanesh Kumar is not the legitimate Election Commissioner of the country.”

"Modi Ji, Amit Shah Ji, Mohan Bhagwat, and Gyanesh Kumar have destroyed the democracy of the country. As I said yesterday, those who have done this are traitors to the country, and we will take action against them. I am telling you right now: Gyanesh Kumar will have to resign."

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: "We are all here together, we are all here united, and we are all here without any egos. We will fight the giant, till they are out," says TMC MP Derek O'Brien after Opposition MPs' meeting called by Congress president and LoP Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on the CEC matter.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: We will tell people that for us Gyanesh Kumar is not a legitimate CEC: Rahul Gandhi ahead of opposition's protest at Jantar Mantar.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Opposition MPs may protest at Jantar Mantar today over CEC issue.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi arrived at Sagar Ratna restaurant, Janpath, where Congress president Mallikajun Kharge has invited INDIA bloc MPs for lunch.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: After arriving for lunch hosted by Congress president at Sagar Ratna, Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda said, "See, we have come for lunch now, our fight is continuing, we have come to know about the FIR where my name was also included, we will not get intimidated by the FIR, they should have understood it by now."

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: After arriving for lunch hosted by Congress president at Sagar Ratna, Congress leader Pawan Khera said, "We don't get intimidated by the FIR, it is a badge of honour... We will sign the document, the election commission wants signature of everyone, they are big people, they have become formal with us... These MPs are representatives of 64 pc people."

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: As AAP continues to stage a protest outside the premises of Delhi Chief Electoral Officer's office at Kashmere Gate, AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha said, "Gyanesh Kumar has committed treason against this nation. Governments were formed in Delhi by stealing votes, making those who came to power through such electoral theft illegal governments. Vote theft has occurred across the entire country, and the opposition has been raising this issue continuously. Now, even the Supreme Court has noted that changes to Form 6 were made without its permission, proving that they misled the nation once again. Why did you mislead the country? Are you trying to secure victories for the BJP? You are the Election Commission of this country. You are a traitor, and you should be sent to prison. Our colleagues from the INDIA alliance are arriving. We are heading to meet the Election Commission..."

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Congress MP K. C. Venugopal on Wednesday said, "Let them file thousands of FIRs...We are proud that we are fighting to protect the democracy of the country..."

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and workers were stopped by placing barricades as they staged a protest march from the Sindhi Academy near Kashmere Gate toward the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), alleging vote theft.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge is chairing a meeting of MPs from opposition parties at a restaurant in Central Delhi. The objective of the meeting is to draft a letter which will be sent to the CEC demanding an urgent meeting with opposition leaders on the SIR issues.

Key Opposition MPs who assembled in the national capital today for a meeting called by Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge confirmed that the high-profile session will discuss the next course of action in the ongoing protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Arriving for the meeting, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha said, "There will be a lunch; maybe there will also be a launch."
(ANI)

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: LoP Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and several other INDIA bloc MPs arrived at Sagar Ratna restaurant, Janpath, where Congress president Mallikajun Kharge has invited them for lunch.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Several senior opposition leaders arrived at a venue in Janpath in Delhi on Wednesday for a lunch meeting convened by Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.

Kharge had invited Opposition MPs for a lunch meeting, where the lawmakers are expected to sign a letter seeking an appointment with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Tamil Nadu Mminister Rajmohan on Wednesday condemned the detention of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, saying that it was “unacceptable”.

“Detention of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is not acceptable; we strongly condemn it,” Rajmohan said. (ANI)

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: See intimation letter by CJP co-convenor Saurav Das to Delhi police. Police have received the letter but haven't granted permission yet.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: CJP's co-convener Saurav Das said that even if CEC Gyanesh Kumar resigns, they will not bow down and will demand reforms in the election commission.

“Even if Gyanesh Kumar resigns, we will not bow down. We want proper reforms in election commission. Otherwise, the ECI will never be fair...We have to ensure that Kumar resigns and he is arrested. We want systemic reforms, freezing SIR, probing illegal decisions during SIR. Government should ensure people like Kumar don't sit at such position. Otherwise we won't return. I want everyone to come. Pack your bags. It will be a long fight,” he said addressing a presser in Delhi.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Neha Bora, AISA president, said on Wednesday during a press conference that student organisations, INDIA bloc and others are on one side and that it is time to “desert” the BJP.

“On the other side, only ECI and BJP are there. BJP is taking help of ECI and police. We just want to reach out to all political parties, student organisations and groups because we know our fight will be strengthened by the masses. On October 10th, all of us from different organisations will join the protest. The last time all of us were all on same page, the cabinet minister had to resign. We will show the same unity and struggle for the movement,” she said.

“If there was a time to desert the BJP, it is now. If you want to be side with the right side of history, leave the BJP. Take the lead from Dharmendra Pradhan. Take the lead from Gyanesh Kumar. Desert the BJP camp,” she added.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: : Congress leader Motha Rohit on Wednesday slammed Kiren Rijiju over his criticism of the Congress and Rahul Gandhi and said that raising questions against the government and speaking for the people should not be labelled "anti-India".

Speaking to ANI, Rohit said, "Whenever the opposition or the citizens of this country raise questions against the Bharatiya Janata Party government, its leaders immediately lash out."

Responding to Rijiju's remarks, Rohit said those questioning the BJP government were being labelled as traitors or "anti-India".

"I want to say that raising one's voice on behalf of the people of this country is the ultimate act of patriotism; so, do not try to lecture us on patriotism," he said.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: CJP co-convenor Saurav Das submitted notice for October 10 protest at Jantar Mantar and said, “CJP and all the youth of the country, meaning all the comrades, are going to reach Jantar Mantar on October 10. We have formally informed the Delhi Police and requested them to cooperate with us while maintaining the law and order situation.”

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: CJP co-convenor Saurav Das to visit Parliament Street Police Station to submit notice for October 10 protest at Jantar Mantar. Das says, "Gyanesh Kumar, who is a traitor to the country, the number one traitor, an original anti-national, and now even the Supreme Court has said that he is the number one liar in this country, will face a major protest by Cockroach Janta Party and the youth of the country from October 10. Today, the entire Cockroach Janta Party team has come to inform the Delhi Police that we will all gather at Jantar Mantar, the designated protest site and a historic place where protests are held peacefully, on October 10. I have come today for this purpose. We are going to the Parliament Street Police Station. I have prepared a letter stating that we will fully cooperate with you and hope that you will also cooperate with us. We have informed them that a major protest is going to be held at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on October 10. I have come to discuss this with them. We had already informed them earlier, but today we will formally intimate them so that later they do not turn around and say that they were not formally informed."

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: The Congress on Wednesday lashed out at the Modi government after the Delhi Police registered an FIR against Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for allegedly forcibly entering Akashvani Bhawan, saying the "diabolical duo" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah is "rattled" and "desperate".

The opposition party also said the writing on the wall is clear. (PTI)

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Delhi Police have registered a first information report (FIR) after receiving a complaint alleging that Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with other MPs, entered the Akashvani Bhavan premises without permission during Tuesday’s Opposition protest against chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

The complaint alleged that the leaders entered the office premises without permission after police stopped the Opposition march towards the Election Commission of India (ECI), an officer aware of the matter said.

“FIR has been registered under relevant sections. A further probe is underway” a senior police officer said. Read more.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: The opposition DMK in Tamil Nadu slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and questioned his "silence" over the alleged voter deletions in Tamil Nadu.

“Daro Math! Rahul Gandhi. The Hindu Business line has made an expose of how SIR in Tamilnadu affected the results of the election in 2026. When Mr. @RahulGandhi thundered “Bihar elections are stolen” Will he at least say something about this TN conundrum?” said DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai on X.

“Most notably, among the 135 constituencies where more than 20,000 voters were deleted, TVK won 84. In the ten constituencies with more than 80,000 deletions, TVK won all ten,” he added.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: No provision in the Constitution or the Representation of the People Acts of 1950 and 1951 obliges the commission to give a party, a delegation or a group of MPs an audience. Article 324 of the Constitution vests the "superintendence, direction and control" of elections in the commission, and leaves it to decide how, where and from whom it receives representations.

The commission routinely receives delegations from recognised national and state parties, accepts memoranda on electoral rolls, the Model Code of Conduct and electronic voting machines, and gives parties appointments when they ask for them.

A poll body is expected to be even-handed between parties, and hearing their complaints is part of that, so turning away a large Opposition delegation outright may be unusual.

Read more.