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Reacting to the protests against CEC Kumar, Venugopal described the movement as a “do-or-die” fight for the Congress.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay (File Photo/ANI)
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), represented by party leaders Aadhav Arjuna and Maria Wilson, attended the INDIA bloc meeting in Tamil Nadu at Sathyamurthy Bhavan. The meeting is currently underway.
The removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is among the key demands raised by the Opposition alliance during the meeting.
Top INDIA bloc leaders had gathered at the Constitution Club on September 30 to discuss alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, concerns over electronic voting machines (EVMs), and their demand for Kumar’s resignation.
The series of meetings comes days after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and other electoral matters.
Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal had earlier said on Friday that the party and INDIA bloc leaders were prepared to face arrest, alleging that the votes of common people were being “snatched” through the Election Commission of India.
Reacting to the protests against CEC Kumar, Venugopal described the movement as a “do-or-die” fight for the Congress.
“This is for saving the democracy of the country, saving the vote for a common man. Common men’s votes are snatched by Modi and Shah through the Election Commission of India. So, this is a do-or-die fight for the Congress party and the INDIA alliance and all other opposition parties. We are not going to allow this thing,” Venugopal said.
Several leaders were detained during Friday’s protest, with Venugopal saying the opposition was prepared for further arrests.
“Today’s arrest? Yes. In the coming days, more arrests will happen. We are ready to go to jail to save democracy. And their leaders will go to jail. We are ready. Let them prepare all the jails to fill us,” he said.
In Mumbai, activists of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and other civil society organisations protested at Shivaji Park against the Election Commission, alleging irregularities in the SIR exercise.
In Delhi, members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), along with opposition leaders, held protests near Jantar Mantar, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The opposition’s campaign against the Chief Election Commissioner is set to continue, with the INDIA bloc planning more protests, including a programme on October 6 and a rally in Delhi on November 1.
Quick Answers
Ask News18Opposition parties demanded the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar following a news report revealing that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions concerning the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
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Aanchal is the Sub-Editor at News18.com, with more than four years of experience in national and international news. My work involves covering breaking news, politics, current affairs and developments…Read More
Tamil Nadu, India, India
October 03, 2026, 1:42 PM IST
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