SUNIL NEGI
New Delhi, 30 September 2026 – The opposition INDIA bloc held a 3-and-a-half hour long high-stakes coordination meeting at the Constitution Club of India on Wednesday to finalise a joint action plan against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and to press for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The meeting was attended by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, CPP Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, LoP Rahul Gandhi, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, J&K CM Omar Abdullah, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, SP, CPI, CPI(M), Shiv Sena (UBT) and other alliance leaders.
After the meet, the leaders addressed a joint press conference at the Club where 5 Major Decisions were taken unanimously. :
1. MPs March to EC on Oct 6: All Opposition MPs from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will march to Election Commission office in Delhi.
2. Save Democracy March: From Oct 2 to Oct 8, “save democracy” marches will be taken out in all districts with youth and NGOs, with demonstrations before the District Magistrate’s office.
3. Five Big Rallies: The bloc will hold five big rallies to tell people “how the government is snatching the right of the people”.
4. Mega Rally in Delhi: A massive public meeting in Delhi on November 1.
5. Representation to President & SC: LoPs will seek appointment from President in second week of October against “vote chori government” and will appeal to Supreme Court to expedite SIR cases.
Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress President while criticizing the CEC Gyanesh Kumar said
“Our Chief Election Commissioner stands totally exposed. His two fellow members have written 14 times in 10 months! It questions his very integrity and intentions. Therefore, he should be removed. If he has even an iota of Constitutional or moral shame left in him, he will resign himself and turn approver against the powers who are interfering in our electoral rolls”.
“It is shocking that as many as 13.3 Crore voters have blatantly been removed from voter list. Their power to take part in a DEMOCRACY has been snatched”.
“The ballot belongs to the people, and the mandate belongs to the people. So the power of government ultimately rests in the hands of the people”. He said all parties agreed that elections should be held through ballot papers instead of EVMs. “First Modi did ‘notebandi’ now doing ‘votebandi'” emphatically saud Kharge.
Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha saud
“All parties opined that Indian democratic system has been attacked by Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Gyanesh. We will ensure people who have destroyed Indian democracy are punished”.
On X he wrote: “Q. Why is CEC Gyanesh Kumar the only Indian with lifelong blanket legal immunity? A. Because PM Modi uses him to steal elections”.
“INDIA bloc leaders are the collective defenders of the Constitution. It is a personal commitment of all INDIA bloc leaders, we are going to ensure that people who have destroyed Indian democracy are punished. Doesn’t matter how senior they are”.
Mamata Banerjee, TMC Chief was quite outspoken and critical of the BJP and the CEC saying that
“They looted in Bengal. We went to ECI and the Supreme court. Now everything is out in the open. Gyanesh Kumar is a thief. He burnt EVMs. He must resign immediately. Let’s save democracy. Our forceful demand is that if Gyanesh Kumar is not removed then this movement will reach the sky from the ground. Why were EVMs burnt?” Said Bannerjee angrily
Supriya Sule (referred as Sobia by many) and others said as a key speaker at the joint briefing, endorsing the joint action plan. The bloc said its fight is to ensure “one person, one vote, one value” is not weakened and that transparency should not be replaced by secrecy.
