CEC Row LIVE Updates: Opposition steps up attack on Gyanesh Kumar; Priyanka Gandhi detained

CEC Row LIVE Updates: Opposition parties, under INDIA bloc, held protests in the national capital 6 October, demanding resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of eletoral rolls.

Tuesday’s demonstration is the latest in a series of near-daily protests beginning last week by student groups, opposition parties and Cockroach Janta Party.

The protesters have demanded the resignation of Kumar, accusing the polling body he oversees of manipulating voter registrations to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Priyank Gandhi Vadra, and others, marched towards Nirvachan Sadan, the headquarters of the Election Commission of India (ECI) from the Parliament. TMC MPs Mahua Moitra and Abhishek Banerjee also joined the INDIA bloc protest. Some leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were detained during the protest.

Hundreds of security personnel, some carrying batons, stood behind barricades outside the commission’s office near Parliament on Tuesday ahead of the march.

Oppn vs Gyanesh Kumar – in a nutshell

The recent wave of protests began on October 2, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. While the main protests were held on Mumbai by Cockroach Janta Party on 2 October, Delhi also saw sporadic protests by student bodies. Tuesday's protest was part of INDIA bloc schedule with the same demand against Kumar and the poll panel.

The Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) previous protest at Jantar Mantar in July this year against the alleged irregularities in examinations led to the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who eventually resigned.

In New Delhi, the earlier protesters included a united delegation of activists, including All India Students’ Association president Neha Bora, and civil society members Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, among others. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke had announced a "mobilisation" on October 10 from Jantar Mantar.

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to pass an interim order restraining Gyanesh Kumar from functioning over allegations that he took several decisions unilaterally despite objections from the two other election commissioners (ECs), saying it could not proceed on “assumptions” without first verifying the facts.

India began its sir of voter lists in Bihar last year ahead of state elections. The exercise has since expanded to most states and union territories with over 13 Crore voters deleted.

Critics say the process requires documents that are confusing and difficult to obtain, risking the exclusion of millions of eligible voters. The poll panel says the revision is aimed to remove duplicate and ineligible entries while ensuring eligible voters remain registered. Opposition parties and activists say it could disenfranchise legitimate voters.

Stay tuned to this LIVE blog to catch all the latest updates on the INDIA bloc protest against Gyanesh Kumar: