Opposition Demands Resignation Of Chief Election Commissioner
Tens of thousands of opposition supporters gathered at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Sunday. Top leaders from the opposition INDIA bloc organized a massive rally to demand the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Rahul Gandhi led the high-profile protest alongside prominent political figures including Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, and Tejashwi Yadav.
The sprawling demonstration follows weeks of mounting political tension over a controversial voter-list revision exercise. The Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision process recently removed over 130 million names from draft electoral rolls nationwide. Opposition parties accuse Gyanesh Kumar and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of manipulating voter lists to alter election outcomes deliberately.
Both the governing party and election authorities strongly deny all allegations of political bias or electoral manipulation. Official representatives maintain that the revision process simply removes deceased, relocated, or ineligible voters from official registers. However, opposition leaders allege that the ongoing exercise disenfranchises legitimate citizens selectively across multiple key states.
Protesters chanted anti-government slogans, sang patriotic songs, and waved political party flags throughout the day. Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel established heavy security checkpoints, road barricades, and traffic restrictions around central Delhi. The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party also pledged official backing to the opposition movement during the ongoing protest campaign.
Tensions escalated after news reports revealed internal friction within the three-member election panel. Documents showed that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar repeatedly overruled objections from colleague commissioners regarding major revision decisions. Opposition strategists plan further nationwide demonstrations to press their demands before upcoming state legislative assembly elections.
