Indian police detain Rahul Gandhi and opposition MPs during election commission march in New Delhi

Parliamentary march and detentions in New Delhi

On Tuesday, 6 October 2026, Indian opposition lawmakers staged a protest march from the national parliament towards the Election Commission of India headquarters in central New Delhi. The demonstration followed a 30 September meeting where leaders from 19 opposition parties agreed to challenge the commission publicly. Between 237 and 300 members of parliament, led by the Indian National Congress and the Samajwadi Party, marched 800 metres along Parliament Street carrying banners and placards demanding the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force personnel blocked the march with barricades near the NITI Aayog office and Akashvani Bhawan. Police detained several prominent figures, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, placing them onto buses before transferring them to local police stations.

The election commission is a puppet in the hands of the government. We are fighting to save our democracy.

Allegations surrounding the voter roll revision

The confrontation centres on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, an administrative programme initiated in the eastern state of Bihar in June 2025 before expanding across India. Under Kumar's direction, the Election Commission has removed more than 130 million names from draft voter lists, a total representing roughly 13% of the country's electorate. Opposition leaders allege that the process deliberately targets minority populations, particularly Muslim voters, ahead of state legislative elections scheduled for February in Uttar Pradesh. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Election Commission reject the accusations, arguing that the revision lawfully cleans the register of deceased persons, relocated citizens, duplicate entries, and ineligible foreign migrants.

He and everyone else in this criminal assault on our democracy will be held accountable.

Internal dissent and Supreme Court scrutiny

Public scrutiny increased following reporting that documented persistent internal divisions inside the three-member Election Commission. Election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi submitted at least 14 formal objections over a 10-month span regarding voter additions, deletions, database access, and data security. The Election Commission defended its record by stating that differing perspectives represent normal institutional debate and maintaining that official decisions were ultimately made unanimously. On Monday, 5 October 2026, the Supreme Court of India issued formal notices to the central government, Kumar, Sandhu, and Joshi in response to petitions challenging the legality of the revision process.

Youth mobilisation and expanding demonstrations

The parliamentary march coincides with broader street actions organized by the Cockroach Janta Party, a Gen Z-led satirical movement founded by Abhijeet Dipke. On 2 October 2026, marking Mahatma Gandhi's 157th birth anniversary, thousands of students and youth activists staged demonstrations across Delhi and Mumbai calling for Kumar to leave office. The youth group previously led demonstrations in July that resulted in the resignation of India's education minister. The Cockroach Janta Party has called for a new demonstration at Jantar Mantar on 10 October 2026, while opposition alliance leaders intend to present their grievances directly to President Droupadi Murmu.