Leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) came together on Sunday for the largest Opposition mobilisation in recent years, renewing calls for the removal of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and saying he will be jailed for treason in the future.
After headlining a march that snaked through central Delhi for more than an hour and a rally attended by thousands of people, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also trained his guns at the government, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah will not be allowed to escape the law.
“The first step to bring the country back on track is to remove Gyanesh Kumar. Amit Shah had said that Modi will not go anywhere. I am telling you, Narendra Modi can’t go anywhere. We will not allow him to go. After Gyanesh Kumar, we will face you. There will be legal proceedings against Modi and Amit Shah. The country will get justice,” Gandhi told the audience at Ramlila Maidan, one of the three new designated protest sites in the Capital.
Deep Dive
Why did the INDIA bloc hold a rally against CEC Gyanesh Kumar at Ramlila Maidan?
What concerns did the INDIA bloc raise about the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls?
What steps has the INDIA bloc taken to press for Gyanesh Kumar’s removal?
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit back with parallel rallies of its own and alleged that Gandhi, also the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, was acting at the behest of foreign powers to create anarchy in the country.
{{/usCountry}}The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit back with parallel rallies of its own and alleged that Gandhi, also the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, was acting at the behest of foreign powers to create anarchy in the country.
{{/usCountry}}The Opposition march and rally is the largest show of strength by the INDIA bloc, which has been pushing for Kumar’s removal over allegations of irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission of India and the special intensive revision, which has already removed 130 million names from India’s electoral rolls, many of them under absent, shifted or dead categories. Sunday’s stir was the first such street protest since a brief hiatus in agitation last month.
Also Read | 'Your turn to become PM won't come': Amit Shah takes potshots at Rahul Gandhi amid INDIA bloc protest
The Opposition programme included a march from the edge of Connaught Place to Ramlila Maidan, a route of 1.3km touching Minto Road and Kamla Market. It began at around 12.45 pm as leaders from more than 19 parties — Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah – boarded open-top buses commissioned from Rajasthan. For about 1.5 hours, the convoy of vehicles, flanked by thousands of supporters and political workers, drove around central Delhi before reaching Ramlila Maidan at 2.30pm.
“We are here to ensure the chief election commissioner resigns. We stood our ground, were on the ground on every protest call, got beaten up, and detained by police,” said Rakesh Solanki, who travelled from Badaun in Uttar Pradesh.
In the rally, nine leaders spoke, beginning with CPIML’s Dipankar Bhattacharya and ending with Gandhi.
Several leaders demanded a trial for treason against Kumar, vowed to continue the fight and even set the stage for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh and Punjab elections. Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav termed the rally “Mahabharata” and Akhilesh Yadav said Ramlila maidan had become democracy’s battle of Haldighati, where Maharana Pratap and the Mughal forces clashed in the 16th century. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge demanded Kumar be sent to jail “so that no one else dares to do such a thing again.”
The BJP held a counter protest in Hari Nagar and alleged 40% of Ramlila grounds were empty.
Union minister JP Nadda slammed the Congress for holding its rally on a day that marked the anniversary of the anti-Sikh riots following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.
“The Congress’s objective is to reopen the wounds of the Sikh community, create anarchy in Delhi, destabilise a democratically elected government and malign the country,” Nadda said
BJP chief Nitin Nabin accused the Opposition of disrespecting democracy. “When they get this people’s mandate in Himachal, when they win in Karnataka, then they say democracy has won, but when they lose in Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, then they say democracy is in danger. What kind of dual mentality do you have?” he asked.
Also Read | '40% of Ramlila Maidan vacant': BJP mocks Rahul Gandhi over 10-lakh turnout claim
In the Ramlila Maidan rally, Gandhi said that they did not promote violence and neither had any hatred towards Modi, Shah or Gyanesh Kumar. “We will not spread hatred; we will work with love but we will not let them destroy the Constitution,” he said.
“I want to say to you, Gyanesh Kumar will be removed from the CEC post. Gyanesh Kumar will go to jail,” he added.
He also questioned the legitimacy of the BJP’s victory in 2024.
“Whoever you are, you are not bigger than the Constitution. For years, vote theft has been taking place. After the 2024 election, 13.5 crore voters were removed. In 2024, we had just 3% difference with the NDA. Then 15% of voters were removed. This means, 2024 election was illegal. No power on earth can save Gyanesh Kumar. He will be removed as CEC and go to jail. This is the theft of people’s voices. This is treason,” he said.
He said the rally was the voice of Indians “saying we will not allow democracy to end”.
Akhilesh Yadav referred to the SP’s recent wins in the legislative council polls and stumped for the INDIA bloc in the upcoming UP assembly elections. “Those who hailed the double engine government, I am happy that people of Kashi gave them double zero. People know that if I have votes, their citizenship will remain. And the BJP wants only its supporters to have votes and remain citizens. This is Ramlila maidan. I can say that Ramlila maidan has become the Haldighati of democracy.”
“This maidan has written many histories. This huge participation is an indication that another change will come. Those who came from UP, will leave from UP. People of UP know how to invite someone. But they know better how to send someone off. In the last Lok Sabha election, they were sent off partially. But next year they will face such an exit that they won’t be able to come back. This is Ram ji ki lila ka maidan. And we know that for ages, that the sinners are removed. But those who have stolen Lord Ram’s treasures, committed Chanda chori, donation theft, they will have disastrous consequences,” he added.
Tejashwi underlined that SIR started before the 2025 Bihar elections and said, “This Ramlila maidan is for Ramayan, but we have organised a Mahabharat for the vote thieves.”
Kharge alleged that Modi tried to steal the votes of young people, women and Dalits. “As long as Gyanesh Kumar doesn’t go, we will continue to fight and we will definitely remove him. Modi is trying his best to hide him, but we will bring him out. Women and youth have this power.”
Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said, “What haven’t they looted? They looted the money of Ram Janmabhoomi, Waqf properties...The police became their comrades. The BJP has no organisation of its own. That is why they make the police do party work. Agencies don’t work with the BJP. The BJP will go.”
Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi, party MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, former J&K CMs Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, CPI(Marxist) chief MA Baby, CPI(ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya, Forward Bloc’s G Devarajan, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, independent MP Kapil Sibal and others were present at the rally.
Police did not share the exact number of people who attended the rally but estimates suggest around 50,000 supporters turned up.
The ongoing protests are part of a longer string of events that have mounted pressure on Kumar. The developments follow an Indian Express investigation that said election commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded written dissents and objections at least 14 times between November 2025 and August 2026 and even wrote to the cabinet secretary. It also alleged that election officials found their access to the ECI software curtailed by the central IT team. ECI said differing views and observations were a normal part of deliberation and that all its digital platforms operated under strict data security protocols.
Also Read | BJP hits out at INDIA bloc over anti-CEC rally, calls it a 'calculated conspiracy'
Over the past month, thousands of people have hit the streets, braving Metro closures, internet shutdown, prohibitory orders and 40,000 security personnel who turned the Capital into a virtual fortress and sparked controversy by dragging, manhandling and detaining many agitators. While the Opposition is seeking the removal of Kumar and scrapping the controversial special intensive revision, the BJP blames them for trying to destabilise constitutional bodies to deflect attention from their own political and electoral failures.
Last month, the Opposition submitted a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu and filed a petition at the Supreme Court. On Saturday, 250 Opposition lawmakers met to symbolically impeach Kumar in an unprecedented act of protest against a CEC. The Opposition is again set to meet Murmu to submit evidence backing its allegations and launch state-level stirs. The last Opposition rally at the Ramlila maidan was held in March 2024 to protest against the arrest of then Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren. With Punjab elections round the corner, Kejriwal didn’t attend Sunday’s rally.