INDIA bloc rallies at Ramlila Maidan against CEC Gyanesh Kumar a day after "impeaching" him in a mock parliament

Leaders of 21 opposition parties gathered at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on 1 November to demand the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, whom they accuse of manipulating the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls. The rally came a day after the same parties staged a mock parliament that "impeached" him.

The mock impeachment

The proceeding took place on 31 October at 10 Rajaji Marg, the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presided and Kharge moved a six-point resolution, ThePrint reported.

The resolution accuses the CEC of electoral manipulation, the removal of 13.2 crore voters through the SIR, changing Form 6 without parliamentary oversight, centralising rolls through the ERONET and ECINET systems, and excluding the two other election commissioners. It also alleges constitutional violations and benefits to his family. These are the opposition's allegations, and no court has made any such finding. ThePrint's report mentions no formal motion in Parliament.

Rahul Gandhi said at the event, "We are left with no choice but to do this," and put the deletions at 13.3 crore, slightly above the figure in the resolution. RJD MP Abhay Kushwaha said a treason case should be registered against the CEC, and CPI(ML) MP Sudama Prasad demanded his arrest.

What was said at the rally

Rahul Gandhi told the crowd that without Kumar, Narendra Modi would not have become Prime Minister and Amit Shah would not have become Home Minister. He said removing the CEC would be the first step. Kharge said the struggle would go on until Kumar left office, according to Aaj Tak.

Akhilesh Yadav said his party had filed an affidavit with evidence of vote theft and that "the Election Commission gave no response." TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee described the SIR as "Special Intensive Relief for the BJP." Tejashwi Yadav called recent polls in Bengal and Bihar fraudulent. Others on the stage included Dipankar Bhattacharya of the CPI(ML) Liberation, M.A. Baby of the CPI(M) and Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP. The Cockroach Janta Party stayed away but sent a press note of support.

We did not find an Election Commission response to the rally or the mock proceeding in the reports we read.

The argument over numbers

The size of the crowd became its own dispute. BJP MP Sambit Patra told a press conference that out of 28,000 chairs, "around 5,000-7,000 were empty" in the afternoon, and also said 40 per cent of the ground was vacant. By his own chair count, the empty share would be about 18 to 25 per cent. He contrasted this with what he said was the Congress's claim of 10 lakh attendees. We found no independent count of the actual turnout.

The BJP's response

The BJP held its own "Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao" marches. BJP president Nitin Nabin led one in Rohtak, and Union ministers and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta attended a silent march in Hari Nagar for victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, according to Aaj Tak. The party said the opposition was conspiring to destabilise the government.

Amit Shah, flagging off a march on 1 November, told the opposition to get ready for another five years out of power. In Hyderabad the next day, he called the Delhi event a "Save the Infiltrators" rally. Rahul Gandhi challenged Modi to an open debate on X, writing, "Come if you have the guts." Shah said the president of the BJP's Telangana youth wing would defeat him.

What comes next

Rahul Gandhi has said that "legal action will be taken," without naming a date or a forum. The SIR itself is before the Supreme Court, which is hearing challenges to the Delhi revision. None of the reports we read lists a next date for the opposition's campaign.