NEW DELHI: India’s opposition INDIA bloc on Saturday alleged that the right to vote was under threat, accusing the Election Commission of functioning at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government during a symbolic public impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The event, presided over by former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, was held at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi. The election chief’s public impeachment proceeding was attended by opposition leaders, lawmakers, civil society representatives and people who said that their names had been wrongfully removed from electoral rolls.
CEC ज्ञानेश कुमार के खिलाफ जन-महाभियोग का प्रस्ताव सर्वसम्मति से पारित हुआ। https://t.co/6Xsb2ht491
— Congress (@INCIndia) October 31, 2026
The programme was part of a wider opposition campaign against the Election Commission and its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The INDIA bloc has also called for a rally in the capital on Sunday to demand Kumar’s removal and an end to the revision exercise.
Moving the motion at Saturday’s event, Kharge accused the chief election commissioner of treason and read out a list of charges against him. He demanded Kumar’s removal, the repeal of the 2023 law governing the appointment of election commissioners and a halt to the SIR exercise.
CEC ज्ञानेश कुमार के खिलाफ जन-महाभियोग में कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष और राज्यसभा में नेता प्रतिपक्ष श्री @kharge ने सभा को संबोधित किया।
ज्ञानेश कुमार ने ‘वोट चोरी’ कर, देशद्रोह किया है। इस अपराध के लिए ज्ञानेश को माफ नहीं किया जा सकता, उसे इस्तीफा देना ही होगा।
📍 दिल्ली https://t.co/mKolOb0WfY
— Congress (@INCIndia) October 31, 2026
Kharge, the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, alleged that Kumar was running the Election Commission at the direction of Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
ज्ञानेश कुमार ने Election Commission के साथ-साथ भारत की साख पर बट्टा लगाया है। इस देश को तोड़ने की साजिश की है।
इसलिए मैं इस देश के तमाम जनसंगठनों और जनआंदोलनों की तरफ से CEC ज्ञानेश कुमार के खिलाफ जन-महाभियोग का पूर्ण समर्थन करता हूं।
: स्वराज इंडिया के अध्यक्ष @_YogendraYadav जी
📍 दिल्ली
— Congress (@INCIndia) October 31, 2026
INDIA bloc Lists 6 Charges Against Election Chief
The INDIA bloc later issued a resolution setting out six charges against Kumar, alleging violations of the Constitution and manipulation of electoral rolls.
The resolution, adopted at the event, said the chief election commissioner’s actions posed a serious threat to the right to universal adult suffrage guaranteed under Article 326 of the Indian Constitution.
🔹Why are we holding this impeachment proceeding in a garden?
👉Because we have no other option. Every single institution is closed to us.
I don’t think anything like this has ever happened in history: the entire Opposition sitting in a garden to discuss the impeachment of the Chief Election Commissioner of India.
: LoP Shri @RahulGandhi on the Public Impeachment of CEC Gyanesh Kumar
— Congress (@INCIndia) October 31, 2026
It accused Kumar of being part of a conspiracy orchestrated by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to manipulate national and state elections. The resolution alleged that the ruling party had been allowed to access electoral rolls and add or delete voters to influence election outcomes.
The bloc also accused the Election Commission of conducting the SIR exercise in a partisan and opaque manner. It alleged that 13.2 crore voters had been deliberately removed from electoral rolls, depriving them of their constitutional right to vote.
Other charges concerned alleged changes to Form 6 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, without parliamentary oversight; the centralisation of electoral roll management through software; and the exclusion of the two other election commissioners from decision-making.
सामाजिक कार्यकर्ता निखिल डे के साथ कांता प्रसाद जी, माया देवी जी, कमल जी जैसे नागरिक भी ज्ञानेश कुमार के खिलाफ जन-महाभियोग में पहुंचे।
इस देश के नागरिक होने के बावजूद भी इन सभी का नाम चुनाव आयोग ने वोटर लिस्ट से डिलीट कर दिए हैं।
सुनिए इनका दर्द 👇 https://t.co/1KzgMzUo0I
— Congress (@INCIndia) October 31, 2026
The resolution claimed that the two commissioners had recorded at least 14 objections over their exclusion. It also accused Kumar of failing to act independently and not upholding the Constitution.
Opposition Plans Rally at Ramlila Maidan
The INDIA bloc is due to hold a rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, November 1, against Kumar and irregularities in the SIR exercise.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi announced the march during an Instagram question-and-answer session on Friday. He said it would begin at noon from the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction and end at Ramlila Maidan.
The symbolic public impeachment was initially scheduled for Friday but was postponed because of heavy rain in the capital.
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh accused Kumar of undermining the Indian Constitution on the instructions of Modi and Shah. He said the countdown to the chief election commissioner’s departure was accelerating.
The opposition campaign has intensified following a report by The Indian Express that election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had repeatedly objected to decisions and orders, mostly concerning the SIR process, over the previous 10 months.
Opposition Leaders Demand End to SIR
Several opposition leaders have called for Kumar’s resignation and a halt to the electoral roll revision.
Aam Aadmi Party leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh alleged on Saturday that 13.37 crore votes had been stolen across India in the name of the SIR exercise. He demanded the cancellation of the process and Kumar’s resignation.
Singh also called for elections to be cancelled in constituencies where electoral tampering had taken place. He cited irregularities in West Bengal and Delhi, including the deletion of 40,000 names in the constituency of former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
He further demanded fresh elections in Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka and Maharashtra wherever electoral manipulation had occurred.
Student Unions Back Opposition Protest
The All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora also backed the November 1 rally. In a video posted on social media on Friday, she said the group’s demands included Kumar’s resignation, a complete halt to the SIR exercise and withdrawal of the 2023 law governing the appointment of election commissioners.
Bora urged people to attend the rally at Ramlila Maidan to protect their voting rights and uphold democracy.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke had also expressed support for the rally in an X post on Wednesday, writing: “GYANU MUST GO!”
The party said it supported the INDIA bloc’s November 1 rally.
