INDIA Bloc Escalates Protest Against CEC Gyanesh Kumar Over SIR; Opposition Leaders Rally Across States

Yugcharan News / 08-10-2026

The political confrontation over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls intensified across India on Thursday, October 8, with INDIA bloc parties organising protests in several States and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Opposition parties have alleged irregularities in the voter-roll revision exercise and accused the Election Commission of allowing wrongful deletions, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and government leaders have rejected the allegations and criticised the protests.

In Delhi, INDIA bloc Members of Parliament headed towards Gandhi Smriti for a sit-in protest after holding a lunch meeting. Congress president and Rajya Sabha MP Mallikarjun Kharge was among the senior Opposition leaders involved in the day’s mobilisation. The protests followed a series of demonstrations in the national capital on Wednesday, when Opposition parties demanded the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls.

The Opposition’s campaign has also expanded beyond Delhi. INDIA bloc leaders, including RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, staged a march in Bihar, while Telangana Congress leaders and members of other Opposition parties organised a rally in Hyderabad. In Odisha, INDIA bloc parties observed a 12-hour bandh over several issues, including alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise.

Opposition Intensifies Campaign Against SIR

The controversy centres on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Opposition parties have alleged that the exercise has resulted in the deletion of legitimate voters and have questioned the manner in which names have been removed from draft electoral rolls.

At a “People’s Tribunal” held at Bengaluru’s Freedom Park on Thursday, civil society representatives, activists and public figures criticised the SIR process. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke alleged that the exercise was being used to disenfranchise voters opposed to the BJP and called for continued protests until CEC Gyanesh Kumar resigns. These statements were allegations made during the protest and were not established as facts in the material available.

YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, who participated in the Bengaluru event, also raised questions about changes in electoral rolls in West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Goa. He questioned the deletion and subsequent restoration of voter names in West Bengal, the removal of names in Bihar and the addition of voters in Uttar Pradesh, while also referring to decisions concerning voter enrolment in Goa.

Rathee said the protest was not intended to support any particular political party and described voting as a right belonging to every citizen. He also urged supporters of the BJP to examine the issues being raised around the electoral process.

Actor Prakash Raj, speaking at the Bengaluru “People’s Tribunal”, said the objective of the agitation was not limited to seeking the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner. He called for the SIR exercise to be scrapped and for legal action against Gyanesh Kumar, while alleging that the deletions disproportionately affected minority, Adivasi and Muslim voters. These claims were made at the protest and were not independently established in the supplied material.

Protests Spread Across States

The political mobilisation was visible in multiple parts of the country on Thursday.

In Telangana, Congress leaders, State ministers and representatives of INDIA bloc parties held a rally from the Indira Gandhi statue on Necklace Road to the Lok Bhavan in Hyderabad. Congress State president B Mahesh Kumar Goud and ministers Ponnam Prabhakar, D Sridhar Babu and Jupally Krishna Rao participated in the demonstration. Leaders and workers from CPI, CPI(M), MCPI(U) and other political groups also joined the rally.

In Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav led an INDIA bloc march from Shaheed Smarak near the State Assembly towards the Lok Bhavan. Police stopped the protesters near the office of the chief electoral officer. According to a senior police officer quoted in the report, protesters attempting to breach barricades were taken to the Lok Bhavan. Former CPI (ML) Liberation MLA Ajit Kushwaha reportedly fainted during the demonstration.

Odisha also witnessed disruptions as INDIA bloc parties observed a bandh. Several shops, business establishments, petrol pumps and educational institutions were closed during the morning, while buses and autorickshaws remained off the roads in several areas. Demonstrations and road blockades were reported in cities and districts including Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Balasore, Sambalpur and Berhampur.

Delhi Police Action and Fresh FIRs

The confrontation has also acquired a legal dimension in Delhi. At least two fresh FIRs were registered against Congress leaders, including Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in connection with the INDIA bloc’s protest in central Delhi on October 7.

According to Delhi Police sources cited in the report, the cases relate to allegations involving the handling of police personnel during Wednesday’s protest. The development came amid a wider political dispute over the police action during the demonstration.

The Congress has announced that its State units would observe a “Black Day” on Thursday, objecting to what it described as the manhandling of senior Opposition leaders by Delhi Police.

The Indian Youth Congress has separately approached the Delhi High Court after Delhi Police refused permission for its proposed protest at Jantar Mantar against CEC Gyanesh Kumar. The court is scheduled to hear the plea on October 9.

CEC Security Strengthened

Amid the escalating protests, the security cover of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has been strengthened in Delhi. Additional personnel have reportedly been deployed outside his residence in New Moti Bagh Colony, at the Election Commission office and for his personal security, according to officials cited in the report.

The Delhi Police has also sought the removal or restriction of access to 11 social media posts and videos that it said presented a misleading account of police action during a recent protest. The police said the content could provoke public reaction and adversely affect law and order.

BJP Rejects Opposition Charges

The BJP has strongly criticised the Opposition campaign. BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari accused the Congress of attempting to create “anarchy” through street protests and linked the demonstrations to Rahul Gandhi’s political ambitions. He also alleged that Congress leaders and workers had manhandled police personnel during the previous day’s protest.

Union Minister Bhagirath Choudhary also dismissed the Opposition protests as an expression of frustration. He said the Opposition had no substantive issue and was making what he described as baseless allegations concerning the SIR exercise.

BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi, meanwhile, said that a government elected by the people should not perish as long as elections remain fair, governments are accountable and the bureaucracy is transparent. He also said that if the Constitution is violated, the Supreme Court must examine the matter.

FIR Over Alleged Voter Records Irregularity in Karnataka

The electoral-roll controversy has also produced a separate police case in Karnataka. Vijayapura police registered an FIR against MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal over allegations that false death certificates of voters were created to remove them from the electoral roll in the Vijayapura Assembly constituency.

Yatnal was expelled from the BJP in March 2025. The issue had also been raised publicly by actor Prakash Raj during a rally in Vijayapura. The allegations remain subject to investigation and should not be treated as established facts unless confirmed through due process.

With protests continuing in Delhi, Karnataka, Bihar, Telangana and Odisha, the SIR controversy has emerged as a major political flashpoint between the Opposition and the Election Commission. The INDIA bloc is demanding changes to the electoral-roll revision process and the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, while the BJP and government representatives maintain that the Opposition’s campaign is politically motivated. The dispute is now unfolding simultaneously on the streets, in courts and through competing political claims over the integrity of the electoral process.