In the long tradition of citizens asking whether those who guard the ballot can be trusted, an opposition alliance is preparing to stage a theatrical trial of India's Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, in New Delhi on the last Friday of October. The gathering is a response to the contested revision of electoral rolls, a process that many see as deciding who is counted, and it arrives as the governing party builds its own campaign defending democracy against what it calls anarchy. Whether the performance of an impeachment will shift public judgment, or simply deepen the trenches alread
INDIA bloc plans mock impeachment of CEC Gyanesh Kumar as BJP launches counter-campaign over SIR
Previous SIR-related protests led to more than 100 protesters being detained in Central Delhi, according to the report.
The fight is in the people's court.
Mark
Why call it an impeachment at all? A CEC can't be removed at a kitchen-table event.
Mimi
Right, it's symbolic. The bloc says the real forum is the public. Selja put it as the fight being in the people's court.
Luke
And worth saying: it has no legal force. Nothing in the report suggests a formal removal process is underway.
Mark
Brittas objected to the word mock, though.
Mimi
He did. He wants it seen as a proper process with a presiding officer, a motion, evidence from SIR victims. Meira Kumar chairs.
Luke
But the report also describes people playing Kumar, Modi and Shah, and says that casting wasn't settled. So the format is partly theatre, whatever the label.
Mark
What about the accusations against Kumar?
Mimi
Ramesh says he lied to the Supreme Court and violated the Constitution. Kharge says he follows Modi and Shah's directives.
Luke
Those are opposition claims. The report offers no evidence for them and no reply from the Commission or the BJP on those specific charges.
Mark
And the 100 detained?
Mimi
That was at earlier protests, in heavily secured Central Delhi. It shows how tense this has been.
Luke
Also, the speaker list of about 40 comes from sources, not an official schedule. It could change.
Der Puls
- Opposition leaders are staging a parliament-style impeachment of the Chief Election Commissioner, turning a constitutional dispute into a public spectacle.
- Allegations that voter deletions and roll revisions are subverting electoral democracy are colliding with a sharp BJP counter-campaign.
- Organisers are assembling dozens of speakers, victims of the SIR process, and civil society voices to build a credible mock trial, while the government has not responded.
- Permission battles, security deployments, and a tightly limited November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan keep the confrontation volatile, with past protests already ending in over 100 detentions.
In the long tradition of citizens asking whether those who guard the ballot can be trusted, an opposition alliance is preparing to stage a theatrical trial of India's Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, in New Delhi on the last Friday of October. The gathering is a response to the contested revision of electoral rolls, a process that many see as deciding who is counted, and it arrives as the governing party builds its own campaign defending democracy against what it calls anarchy. Whether the performance of an impeachment will shift public judgment, or simply deepen the trenches already dug, remains an open question that the coming rally on November 1 will begin to answer.
On Friday afternoon, October 30, the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Rajaji Marg is set to host what the INDIA bloc calls a public impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The event follows weeks of protest over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, a process the opposition says has wrongly deleted voters and eroded trust in the system. Jairam Ramesh, announcing the venue after the bloc was refused other locations, accused Kumar of undermining the Constitution and misleading the Supreme Court. The Election Commission has not publicly answered these charges.
The format is modelled on a parliamentary session, with around forty speakers from both sides of the House, a presiding officer, and a motion moved by the Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition. Organisers insist this is a proper process rather than a mock one. Victims of SIR are expected to give evidence, and Kharge has challenged the government to dissolve Parliament and hold elections on ballot paper.
The BJP is answering with its own Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy campaign, and a separate student mock parliament is planned the same morning. Delhi Police have cleared a November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan under strict conditions, with an end time of 5 pm and no overnight stay. Whether the events pass peacefully, and whether the crowds hold, are the questions now waiting to be answered.
At 3.30 pm on Friday, October 30, the address 10, Rajaji Marg in New Delhi, the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, is due to become the setting for something the opposition INDIA bloc is calling a public impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. It is the latest step in the bloc's protests over the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of electoral rolls, and it will be followed by a rally at Ramlila Maidan on November 1.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh announced the time and venue in a post on X, saying the bloc had been denied other locations. He accused the CEC of violating the letter and spirit of the Constitution, of subverting the foundations of electoral democracy, and of having lied to the Supreme Court. He also wrote that Kumar had been a willing executioner for what he called the Diabolical Duo, whose turn would come next. These are Ramesh's allegations; the report does not record any response from the Election Commission.
On Thursday, opposition leaders met at Kharge's residence to prepare. Present were Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal, Meira Kumar, Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera and Gaurav Gogoi of the Congress, along with CPI(M)'s John Brittas, the TMC's Derek O'Brien and Mahua Manjhi, RJD's Abhay Sinha and the Samajwadi Party's Harendra Malik, among others.
According to sources, the event is modelled on a parliamentary session. Around 40 speakers are expected, with MPs speaking from both Treasury and Opposition benches. Congress MPs Akhilesh Prasad Singh and Deepender Singh Hooda, and TMC MPs Mahua Moitra and Kalyan Banerjee, are likely to speak from the Treasury side. Rahul Gandhi and Kharge are expected to address the gathering, and former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar will chair. Sources said who would portray Kumar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah was still to be decided.
Brittas pushed back on the word mock. He said the bloc had decided it would be a proper impeachment process with a presiding officer, that the Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition would move the motion, and that the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition would sum up. Civil society representatives will take part, and victims of SIR will give evidence. Kharge, for his part, accused Kumar of acting on the directives of Modi and Shah, and challenged the government to dissolve Parliament and hold elections on ballot paper. Kumari Selja said the fight was in the people's court, and Gaurav Gogoi said the BJP was trying to conceal alleged irregularities.
The bloc is demanding Kumar's resignation or removal over alleged irregularities and concerns about voter deletions. Earlier demonstrations drew police action, with more than 100 protesters detained amid heavy security in Central Delhi. For November 1, Delhi Police has issued a no-objection certificate on law-and-order grounds, subject to permission from the land-owning authority. The rally runs from 10 am to 5 pm, must conclude by 5 pm, and no overnight stay is allowed. Mamata Banerjee, the former West Bengal chief minister, has called on students, youth, women, workers and civil society to join, and has raised questions about voting machines, voter data, rolls and counting.
The BJP is mounting its own response. Party president Nitin Nabin chaired meetings at party headquarters to review the Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy campaign, with Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Kiren Rijiju, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Bhupender Yadav and Ashwini Vaishnaw attending one session. He also met national general secretaries, including BL Santosh, about organisational plans and the 2027 State Assembly elections. On Wednesday he led a yatra through Chandni Chowk, saying democracy was safe in Modi's hands.
Separately, a group called Citizens for Democracy will hold a mock parliament titled Democracy vs Anarchy at the NDMC Convention Centre at 10:30 am on October 30, with young participants playing political leaders and debating SIR, EVMs and the line between dissent and anarchy. What to watch now is whether Friday's event goes ahead as planned, and whether the November 1 rally passes without detentions.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
We have decided it would not be a mock impeachment... We would have a proper impeachment process with a presiding officer there.— John Brittas, CPI(M) MP
Democracy is in safe hands.— Nitin Nabin, BJP president
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