Tens of Thousands Rally in Delhi Demanding Election Chief Quit
Rahul Gandhi is leading a Congress rally at Ramlila Maidan demanding the resignation of the chief election commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, over a voter-list revision that has removed 130 million names from draft rolls. The Election Commission says it is purging the dead and those who have moved; the opposition calls it “vote chori” — vote theft.
The row deepened in September when the Indian Express reported that Mr Kumar took key decisions on the revision over the objections of his two fellow commissioners, raised on more than a dozen occasions; the commission says differences of opinion are normal. On Saturday opposition leaders staged a symbolic “impeachment” at Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence, accusing Mr Kumar of “treason against the nation and the Constitution of India”. It has no legal force: the commissioner can be removed only by Parliament. Prime Minister Modi said “some people” wanted to create chaos to defame him. The Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party has pledged support, giving the rally a generational edge that echoes Europe’s streets.