Gyanesh Kumar will go to jail: Rahul Gandhi

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar would be removed from his post and jailed, while accusing him of facilitating alleged vote theft in the country.

Addressing the INDIA bloc’s mega rally at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital, Rahul Gandhi asserted that action would be taken against the CEC and claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah would not have reached their respective positions without him.

“Listen to me. What I say always turns out to be true, doesn’t it? I am telling every citizen and every youth of India: Gyanesh Kumar will be removed from the post of chief election commissioner. Gyanesh Kumar will go to jail. Without Gyanesh Kumar, neither Narendra Modi would have become prime minister nor Amit Shah would have become home minister,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi also raised concerns over issues facing farmers, youth and labourers, alleging that they were being denied their rights and that the country’s wealth was concentrated in the hands of a few people.

“The farmer is not getting his rights. The youth are not getting employment. The labourer is not getting his rights, and the entire wealth has gone into the hands of two or three people. We do not want such an India, and we will not accept such an India,” he added.

The Congress leader also alleged that vote theft had taken place in several Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, claiming that votes were manipulated through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and changes to electoral rolls.

“For years, vote theft has been happening in this country. Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections: in all these elections, vote theft has occurred. Votes have been stolen through EVMs and by deleting and adding names to voter lists,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi further claimed that 15 per cent of India’s voters were removed from electoral rolls after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, describing the election as illegal and stolen.

“It was a stolen election. I am not the one saying this; the election commission is saying this,” he said.

INDIA bloc leaders, including Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, attended the rally organised against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Top Opposition leaders and supporters from across the country gathered at the venue for the INDIA bloc’s “Chalo Delhi” protest march, raising concerns over the SIR exercise and alleged irregularities in electoral rolls.

The march began from the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction and proceeded towards Ramlila Maidan. The gathering followed a public “impeachment” programme against the CEC held in the national capital on 31 October.

Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh of coming to power through what he termed “vote theft”, and called for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ouster from office.

Addressing the INDIA bloc’s mega rally at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital, Kharge alleged that those in power were choosing themselves rather than being elected by the public.

“Who votes for them? They choose themselves. The public does not elect them. The current central government, as well as the governments in Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, are all governments of vote theft. We must remove these thieves,” Kharge said.

“Only if Modi goes will democracy survive. We must remove Modi to save democracy,” he added.

Meanwhile, BJP leader and Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan participated in the party’s ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ (Save Democracy, End Anarchy) padayatra in Faridabad on Sunday, where he accused Rahul Gandhi and the Congress of losing faith in democratic institutions.

Pradhan was accompanied by Union Minister of State Krishan Pal Gurjar, Minister of State Rajesh Nagar, Haryana Sports Minister Gaurav Gautam, several MLAs and party workers during the march, organised as part of the BJP’s nationwide campaign.

During the Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan rally, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor called on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign, saying that people had lost faith in him.

Speaking to ANI, Tharoor said, “It looks like the voice of the people has been aroused, and it is time for Gyanesh Kumar to hear the voice of the people. If he has got an ounce of moral conscience, he should see that people have lost faith in him and he should quit.”

Congress MP Randeep Surjewala described the gathering as the beginning of a people’s revolution and accused the government of attacking the Constitution and allowing alleged electoral irregularities.

He added that the message raised at Ramlila Maidan under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders would resonate across the country.

“A people’s revolution has begun in the country. The throne of the ‘emperor’ is shaking, and the people of this nation are sending a clear message: neither will attacks on the Constitution be tolerated, nor will the theft of votes. This clarion call—raised from Ramlila Maidan under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and the entire opposition—will resonate across every corner of the country,” Surjewala said.

Congress leader Kumari Selja claimed that hundreds of thousands of people had assembled at the venue to oppose the BJP government and the functioning of the chief election commissioner.

She said the INDIA bloc leaders and supporters had taken a pledge not to allow the prevailing situation to continue and asserted that the people had made their decision to bring down the government.

“A massive sea of hundreds of thousands of people has gathered today at the Ramlila Maidan. Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, the entire INDIA bloc—all its leaders and hundreds of thousands of supporters—have taken a solemn pledge today: we will not allow the state of affairs that the BJP and the chief election commissioner have brought about in this country to continue. We will topple this government; the people have made their decision,” she said.

Senior Advocate and Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the rally conveyed a message of public anger and discontent.

“This is a message. A message of outrage, of discontent. It is a message that the Constitution is not anyone’s plaything,” Singhvi said.

Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said that people in Bengal are “victims” of the SIR and vowed to continue the fight against the exercise, asserting that she would not surrender.

Addressing the INDIA bloc’s mega rally, Banerjee accused the BJP of looting West Bengal and said the fight to protect democracy would continue through political and democratic means.

“Bengal is the victim of the circumstances of this SIR. We will not give up. We will give our lives, we will fight, but we will not surrender. They looted our Bengal. We will save democracy and bring it back. We will take revenge through politics. We will take revenge through democracy. We will fight,” she said.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav targeted the BJP and asserted that the party and its allies would not return to power after the 2027 Assembly elections.

“Those who once came from UP will be driven out from UP itself. The people of UP know how to welcome and how to bid farewell even better. In 2027, such a farewell will happen that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies will not be able to return again,” Yadav said.

Describing the gathering at Ramlila Maidan as the “Haldighati of democracy”, the SP chief said the public support and slogans at the rally reflected the possibility of change.

“Today, Ramlila Maidan has turned into the Haldighati of democracy. The massive public support and slogans of revolution are proof that change can happen at any moment,” Yadav said.

Taking dig at the BJP, he said those who had earlier claimed to be an “unmovable foot of Angad” had lost their political ground. Referring to Kashi, he said the people there had given the party a “double zero”.

“Those who claimed to be an ‘unmovable foot of Angad’ now have no ground left beneath them. The people of Kashi have given them a double zero,” Yadav said.

Yadav also alleged that the BJP was conspiring because it could not win public support and accused the party of using the Election Commission to pursue its political objectives.

“You and I have seen that the BJP is continuously plotting conspiracies because they know they cannot win among the public. So they have chosen their path through the Election Commission,” he added.

Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) MP Anurag Thakur has strongly criticised the Congress and opposition parties over their protests in the national capital, accusing them of attempting to create political instability and spread anarchy in the country.

He asserted that India’s democratic institutions remain strong and that the people would never allow the country to become like Bangladesh, Nepal, Libya or Syria.

Thakur highlighted India’s economic progress under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, stating that the country had become the world’s fourth-largest economy and would continue to advance in the coming years.

“They assassinated the Constitution, assassinated Sikhs, and now they have set out to assassinate democracy and spread anarchy. But the people of the country will never let India become Bangladesh, Nepal, Libya, or Syria. India’s democracy is strong, and under Modi ji’s leadership, India has become the fourth-largest economy in the world, and will move forward even more now,” he said.

Commenting on the protests in Delhi, Thakur referred to the gathering outside Himachal Bhawan, where protesters had assembled and raised slogans. He questioned the performance of the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, alleging that it had failed to fulfil its electoral guarantees and was now organising protests in the national capital to avoid accountability for its governance.

“The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh has failed to deliver anything, and its guarantees have fallen flat. Now, to avoid being held accountable here, they have gone to Delhi. They should ask what happened to Priyanka Gandhi’s guarantees and Rahul Gandhi’s guarantees. This political drama by the Congress is not acceptable to the people of the country.” he said.

When asked about allegations of a foreign toolkit being used against the government, Thakur maintained that the opposition could not challenge the government through its own strength.

“Foreign toolkit, foreign money, foreign forces, foreign friends. The opposition would never dare to think about toppling the government in India using their strength,” he said.

Thakur dismissed the opposition’s demonstration as political drama, asserting that it would not yield any results.

“It’s just drama from Congress and the opposition; nothing is going to come of it. Nothing will happen. The people of this country are watching,” he said.

Responding to questions concerning allegations of voter deletions from electoral rolls, Thakur defended the removal of ineligible entries.

“If a dead person’s vote was deleted, then a dead person’s vote should be deleted. If someone has moved, their vote should be deleted; duplicate votes should be deleted. The vote of someone who isn’t present at home should be deleted, and that’s exactly what’s happening. If 13 crore people’s votes had been deleted, there would have been a massive uproar in India, brother, but that’s not the case,” he stated.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a blistering, no-holds-barred counter-offensive against the INDIA Bloc’s mega rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan.

Shah mounted a fierce attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the INDIA bloc, warning them that their politics of “obstruction and negativity” would ensure they remain permanently banished from power.

Ridiculing the opposition alliance’s playbook, Shah asserted that disrupting legislative proceedings and staging street drama will only push them further into political irrelevance.

“Lying, spreading chaos, propagating negativity, obstructing the functioning of Parliament, and taking parliamentary issues to the streets to create a ruckus—if this has been your nature, then get ready to spend another five years in the opposition,” he said.

Tearing into Rahul Gandhi over his political ambitions, Shah took a sharp dig at Sonia Gandhi, stating that her political dream would remain unfulfilled.

“For 15 years—effectively spanning three elections—he has been losing. Sonia-ji’s dream of seeing her son become prime minister remains unfulfilled. She has come up with a new approach: holding a ‘mock parliament’. I would like to tell Rahul-ji: if you want to be prime minister, then just stay in a ‘mock parliament’ for the rest of your life—because your turn is never going to come.” Shah said.

Shah added, “...Rahul ji, you disrupt the functioning of Parliament—all to prevent mothers and sisters from securing 33 per cent reservation. Rahul Baba, let me tell you this: it is this very Narendra Modi ji who will ensure that the women of India—our ‘Matrushakti’—receive 33 per cent reservation; this is our firm resolve”

The union home minister also flagged the timing of the rally, pointing out how the opposition turned a blind eye to both the business community ahead of the festive season and the historic sensitivity surrounding the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

“Traders in Delhi pleaded with them, explaining that they have only one week in the entire year when the bulk of their business takes place. ‘If we stock up on sweets and they don’t sell, what happens? We suffer a loss. If we stock up on firecrackers and they don’t sell, what happens? We suffer a loss...’” Shah noted.

“The traders held press conferences—not once, but three times—wrote letters, and implored them to hold their rally after Diwali. But no—they insisted on holding their rally on that very day—the same dark day when the anti-Sikh riots, the Sikh massacre, took place,” the home minister remarked.

Issuing a stern electoral prediction, Amit Shah warned the Congress that Delhi’s trading fraternity would deliver a decisive blow at the ballot box.

“I want to tell the leaders of the Congress party today: the small traders of Delhi have ensured that you haven’t been able to open an account—that is, win a single seat—in the last three elections. And mark my words: you won’t be able to open an account in the next three elections either,” Shah declared.

Setting a firm deadline to eliminate the narcotics crisis, Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared that the central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make the entire country, including Punjab, completely free from the menace of drugs by 31 December 2029.

“On one hand, Narendra Modi-ji is propelling the nation forward at an extraordinary pace. Article 370 has been abolished; Naxalism has been brought to an end; ‘Triple Talaq’ has been abolished,” he said.

“Now, mark my words: by 31 December 2029, we will ensure that the entire country—including Punjab—is completely free from the menace of drugs,” Shah asserted.