INDIA bloc leaders, led by Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, marched towards Rajghat on Day 3 of protests demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
Published: October 8, 2026, 4:33 PM IST
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Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, party MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra board a bus carrying INDIA bloc MPs to Jantar Mantar for a sit-in protest against CEC (PTI)
New Delhi: In a significant national political development on Monday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said the party and other INDIA bloc MPs are marching to Rajghat to stage a peaceful sit-in protestAccusing the BJP-led government of undermining democratic rights and institution, the opposition parties have been seeking permission to hold protests over several issues, including alleged irregularities in the electoral processThe development comes as Congress and other INDIA bloc MPs were marching to Rajghat after lunch at a restaurant in Connaught Place.
Speaking to reporters, Kharge said the INDIA bloc members would gather at the Gandhi Memorial for a peaceful demonstration and prayer, urging the BJP government to reconsider what he described as policies that were against the interests of the people.
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INDIA bloc leaders heading to Gandhi Memorial to stage peaceful sit-in protest
“We, the members of the INDIA bloc, are heading to the Gandhi Memorial to stage a peaceful sit-in protestWe will sit there and pray that the BJP government, specifically Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, are granted the wisdom to realise that their actions are not in the nation’s interest,” he saidHe alleged that issues such as “vote theft”, rising inflation and problems faced by the youth reflected a broader failure of governance.
Kharge further said the Opposition wanted to draw attention to what it considers attempts to weaken the freedoms secured during the country’s freedom struggle.
“We want to highlight that they are snatching away the freedom we secured, the freedom won for us by great leaders like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, and Vallabhbhai Patel, and are making every effort to destroy it,” he saidHe also alleged that citizens’ voting rights were being undermined and said the protest at Rajghat would seek to remind the government of the importance of protecting constitutional freedomsRahul Gandhi said nearly 300 MPs from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha wanted to participate in the peaceful demonstration but had been prevented from protesting over the past two days.
“We have been prevented from protesting for two days nowOn the first day, we were stopped outside the Election CommissionSubsequently, we expressed our desire to protest at Jantar Mantar, yet yesterday, as you witnessed, we were stopped there as wellOur people were assaulted,” Gandhi said.
(With inputs from agencies)
