Eknath Shinde sees foreign hand in protests, says Rahul-led march to SC was ‘black day’ for democracy

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday accused the Opposition of conspiring with foreign powers to incite civil unrest, claiming that “foreign powers” were backing the Opposition-led protests in Delhi and that the march to the Supreme Court to file a petition on September 12 was a “black day” for democracy.

The Shiv Sena president also claimed that external entities were conspiring to derail India’s economic progress and spread civil unrest.

Shinde said the Opposition march to the Supreme Court on Monday was no trivial matter and an attack on the top court. “It was an insult to India’s highest judiciary. And that’s why I condemn this once again, and they should apologise to the 1.4 billion people of India,” he told a media briefing in Mumbai.

The deputy CM also questioned the motives of opposition leaders who, he said, had been invoking political upheavals in neighbouring nations. “The Opposition is citing examples of Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Do they want civil unrest in India? If they cannot rule the country, they are looking at avenues to destroy it,” he alleged.

The Shiv Sena leader’s sharp attacks on the Opposition, particularly Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, came a day after thousands of people flooded central Delhi for three hours in protest against chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, one of the largest political mobilisations in recent years that followed two days of police crackdown on agitators.

Gandhi led the march from the Constitution Club to Bhagwan Das Road and later walked into the Supreme Court to file a petition demanding an independent, time-bound investigation into decisions allegedly taken unilaterally by Kumar and to suspend the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) pending this inquiry. The petition is expected to be heard on Thursday.

Shinde said the Opposition must respect the position of the prime minister and insisted that the protests are detrimental to the country and the opposition wants to destabilise India. “If they can’t rule India, they are looking at avenues to destroy India,” he said.

The protests are part of a longer string of events that have mounted pressure on chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the controversial special intensive revision – which has already deleted 130 million names from India’s electoral rolls – and other allegations. The developments come after an Indian Express investigation said election commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded written dissents and objections at least 14 times between November 2025 and August 2026 and even written to the cabinet secretary. It also alleged that election officials found their access to the ECI software curtailed by the central IT team. ECI said differing views and observations were a normal part of deliberation and that all its digital platforms operated under strict data security protocols.