Rahul Gandhi Escalates Attacks on Modi and Shah at INDIA Bloc Rally Demanding Election Chief's Exit

On Sunday, thousands of people filled Ramlila Maidan in Delhi for a rally organized by the INDIA bloc, the opposition alliance, with a single demand: that India's chief election commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, resign. Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition and a senior figure in the Indian National Congress, used the stage to widen the target well beyond Kumar.

Addressing the crowd, Gandhi told Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah that after Kumar, the opposition would stand against them. He accused them of what he called "vote chori," or vote theft, and said they and Modi would face legal action for it. He described Kumar's resignation as the first step toward putting the country back on the right track. He also alleged that without Kumar, Modi would not have become prime minister and Shah would not be home minister. These are Gandhi's allegations, made from a rally platform; the reporting offers no evidence for them.

The rally came after more than a month of protests against Kumar and a sweeping revision of the voter rolls. That exercise removed more than 130 million names from the lists. Opposition parties say its effects fell disproportionately on Muslims and other minorities.

Gandhi was not alone on the dais. Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, both senior Congress leaders, attended, as did leaders of regional parties: Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Mehbooba Mufti and Tejashwi Yadav. The line-up showed an alliance trying to present a united front around the election commission issue.

The rally unfolded as Delhi's air worsened with the onset of winter. The air quality index has already crossed 400. Authorities began an anti-pollution drive on Sunday, checking nearly 15,000 vehicles. More than 1,500 were turned back at Delhi's borders, and more than 500 tickets were issued for violating Pollution Under Control Certificate norms. Fines on the first day came to nearly €64,500. From November 1, 2026, to January 31, 2027, non-Delhi vehicles that fail emission standards are banned. CNG vehicles, electric vehicles and essential services are exempt. Of 300 construction sites inspected, 32 were reported to be breaking dust control rules.

Elsewhere in the country, protests have intensified in Arunachal Pradesh against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, an 11,000 to 11,200 MW dam on the Siang River that is meant to be India's biggest hydropower project. A local youth organization announced a 36-hour shutdown, the Assam Tribune reported. Protesters burned tires and bus services were halted. Locals want arrested protesters released, security forces deployed and surveys suspended. Sections of the indigenous Adi community fear displacement and the loss of farmland, identity and culture. The state Congress wing has demanded the project be scrapped.

Cyclone Murasu, packing winds of 100 to 120 kilometers per hour, is moving along the coast of Andhra Pradesh and is expected to make landfall on Tuesday, following cyclone Arnab. Thousands have been evacuated along the eastern coast, and schools and colleges are closed. The meteorological department has issued an orange alert for six districts in Telangana and a yellow alert for five, and warned the storm could intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm before landfall.

In Mumbai, Amitabh Bachchan greeted fans from behind bulletproof glass at his weekly appearance, with his son Abhishek beside him, after a bomb threat email reportedly sent to a school in the Bandra-Kurla Complex. It allegedly named October 31 and November 27 as possible dates; police are investigating whether it specifically mentioned his home.

What to watch is whether the protests against Kumar continue and how the Election Commission responds.