New Delhi [India], October 27 : Ahead of the November 1 ‘Dilli Chalo’ march in the Ramlila Maidan, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday intensified his allegations of electoral irregularities, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar or his removal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also accused PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of trying to suppress the movement.
Addressing a ‘Vote Adhikar Jeene Ka Adhikar’ Jan Sunwai in the national capital, Gandhi alleged that votes were being stolen "right from the top level" and that poor people were being deliberately removed from electoral rolls.
He said the Opposition was united on the issue and would continue its agitation until Gyanesh Kumar resigned. 
“The entire Opposition stands united on this issue. The vote is the fundamental right of every Indian citizen. Yet, across India, this right--their vote--is being systematically snatched away from crores of people,” Gandhi said.
“We have been raising this issue for a long time, but now the entire country is beginning to understand that top level se vote chori ho rahi hain (vote theft is being orchestrated right from the top level),” he added.
Alleging that the removal of poor people from voter lists was aimed at serving the interests of a handful of billionaires, Gandhi said their voting rights and entitlements were being taken away.
“Poor people are being deliberately struck off the voter lists, and their rights and entitlements are being stripped away. Why? To create 'Naya Hindustan' (New India)--India belonging to a handful of chosen billionaires, where ordinary citizens have no rights, where the poor have no rights, and where the country is run solely for billionaires,” he said.
Further, Congress president Kharge also targeted the Centre over the issue, accusing PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of attempting to suppress the movement against alleged ‘vote chori’ and questioning why they were protecting the CEC.
In a post on X, Kharge wrote, “As more skeletons tumble out of the Election Commission’s cupboard, exposing Vote Chori, Modi-Shah are trying hard to suppress the people's movement! Why are they protecting CEC Gyanesh Kumar?”
“This diversionary tactics and bogus propaganda is only discrediting Modi Govt, and tarnishing our Democracy! INDIA shall continue our democratic struggle to protect every citizen’s vote and our Constitution!” the post read.
AICC observer Pallam Raju said the Congress was continuing its nationwide campaign to protect the voting rights of ordinary citizens and called for greater transparency in the electoral process.
Addressing a press conference at the KPCC office, Raju said the party's concerns extended beyond the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to broader issues involving elections, electronic voting machines and voter-verifiable paper audit trails.
“For years, Congress has been raising its voice against the weakening of elections, electoral irregularities, handling of EVMs and VVPATs, and recent changes being made to voter lists,” he said.
“The Congress party's main demand is that there should be transparency and accountability at every stage of the election process,” Raju added.
Political leaders across the BJP and Congress traded remarks over the INDIA bloc’s planned rally, with BJP leaders urging Rahul Gandhi to consider traders’ concerns over festive-season business disruptions, while Congress leaders defended the protest and questioned the objections raised by trade bodies.
The Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) earlier requested top opposition leaders to defer the INDIA bloc's planned mega rally.
Trade bodies highlighted that road diversions, barricading, and metro station closures in central Delhi during the peak festive shopping season, ahead of Dhanteras, Diwali, and Bhai Dooj, threaten thousands of crores in commercial turnover for major trading hubs such as Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazar, and Karol Bagh.
Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit questioned traders’ concerns over the November 1 rally, arguing that the gathering would have a limited impact on business and that the large turnout could also benefit street vendors and small shopkeepers.

"It is fine if the traders are appealing. First of all, this rally is confined to a specific area, so I do not understand how it will impact overall trade across the city. Secondly, when 1,000,000 people arrive, the street vendors will sell their samosas, and roadside water vendors will sell their bottles. Are they not traders? Or are only shop owners considered traders? When someone arrives at the station, they will buy food on the way; someone else will go to a small shop to buy chips. They are also traders. Those 800,000 to 1,000,000 people who attend will also purchase goods,” he said.
Further, Congress leader Hussain Dalwai urged the business community to stop supporting the government unconditionally and pressure it over alleged electoral irregularities, claiming that the voting rights of 13 crore people had been taken away.

"The business community should stop sycophancy toward the government and instead exert pressure on the government. The way the government is functioning, it is the right of the people to protest now. And why do people protest? Do they protest just like that? Do they do it to cause trouble to the business community?Everyone has the right to vote in the elections, but this very right has been snatched away to prove a point. The rights of 13 crore people have been stripped away, and the business community should speak up about this. If you want to exert pressure, bring it upon the government. You are the ones who brought this government to power; now pull it down,” he said.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Nalin Kohli criticised Rahul Gandhi rally, accusing him of asking traders to take up the Congress's political demands while traders want to celebrate Diwali without disruption to their businesses.

"... One doesn't know where Rahul Gandhi has tweeted this from, whether he is still abroad on vacation or has returned. The larger issue is that traders are appealing to him, but he is asking them to do his work by demanding a resignation. The traders want to celebrate Diwali without disrupting their businesses and want their customers to move freely. Rahul Gandhi ji's politics is very strange. What is his demand and what is his desire, he is now asking traders to take up the issue. What they have to say is best asked of them,” he said. 
BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh also urged Rahul Gandhi to consider traders’ concerns and postpone the November 1 rally until after Diwali, questioning whether holding it on the scheduled date would lead to the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

"Delhi’s traders had made a request, noting that Diwali is a major festival—celebrated with great joy and a time when shopkeepers see a significant surge in sales. They requested that the rally not be held before Diwali, but rather a day or two later. It is now up to Rahul Gandhi’s own judgment whether or not he can grasp the distress of these traders—a distress he ought to acknowledge. What difference does a gap of two or four days make? If the rally is held on that specific day, will it lead to the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar?” Singh said.
These remarks come amid an escalating war of words between the ruling BJP and opposition parties as both sides gear up for high-profile public demonstrations in Delhi. The BJP announced its 'Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy' campaign in response to recent opposition agitations and claims surrounding regime change and electoral roll revisions. 
Meanwhile, BJP chief Nitin Nabin was responding to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's controversial remark on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the address, a person at the event reportedly said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not go anywhere. Responding to the remark, Kharge said, “Modi ka baap bhi jayega.” 
Reacting to this, the BJP chief said, "You can see the frustration and desperation of the Congress. Whenever they get desperate, they resort to insulting the mother and father of Modi ji. I want to tell the Congress national president that it is because of these very values that Congress is heading towards doom. If they still don't learn, there won't be anyone left to even take the name of Congress."
The Congress has planned a public impeachment-style proceeding against CEC Gyanesh Kumar on October 30, followed by a ‘Dilli Chalo’ march and a public gathering at Ramlila Maidan on November 1.