Rain postpones INDIA bloc’s ‘public impeachment’ of CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday (Oct 30) announced that the INDIA bloc had postponed its proposed “public impeachment” of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar by a day, citing heavy rain in the national capital. The protest, originally scheduled for 4 pm at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in Delhi, will now take place at the same time on Saturday.

Addressing reporters alongside Opposition leaders, Gandhi said the decision was taken collectively, keeping senior leaders in mind.

“By consensus, we have decided to postpone today’s programme to tomorrow at the same time because of the rain. We felt that it would be difficult for the seniors to sit in the rain,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi calls for larger turnout at Ramlila Maidan

The Congress leader also appealed to people from different sections of society to participate in the INDIA bloc’s proposed march to Ramlila Maidan on November 1. He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Election Commission leadership of undermining democratic institutions.

“Both programmes are about the demolition of Indian democracy by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, CEC Gyanesh Kumar and crew of the Election Commission,” Gandhi said.

He further alleged that efforts were being made to prevent people from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Telangana from travelling to Delhi for the demonstration.

“The Home Minister is doing his best to stop people from coming to Delhi,” Gandhi said, adding that the turnout at Ramlila Maidan would show how many people were able to overcome these restrictions.

Opposition alleges mass voter disenfranchisement

Gandhi claimed that the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise had triggered widespread anger, with millions of voters allegedly facing disenfranchisement. He accused the government of allowing voter deletions to benefit wealthy businessmen Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, besides Modi and Shah.

Reiterating that the Opposition was united, he said the demonstration was a collective effort to defend the Constitution.

TMC MP Derek O'Brien echoed the Congress leader's appeal, saying the protest was open to people beyond political parties.

“We are all in this together. Civil society is invited, students are invited, youth, workers, and housewives can all join,” he said.