Lathi Can Stop a Crowd, But Not Questions, Rahul Gandhi Takes Aim at CEC Protest Crackdown

Thousands of people gathered at Mumbai Shivaji Park on Friday, October 2, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The protest was organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), with the demonstrators citing concerns over the functioning of the Election Commission and the nation wide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The protest followed an investigation by The Indian Express, which reported that Election Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over a 10 month period concerning decisions and orders of the Election Commission, including matters linked to electoral roll revision. The Election Commission has disputed the interpretation of the reported objection. It said that operational queries, inputs and suggestions raised by the two commissioners were part of the normal deliberative process and maintained that decisions taken by the full Commission, including those related to SIR, were unanimous. According to reports from the protest, around 4,000 people had gathered at Shivaji Park. Among those present were CJP leaders and supporters as well as actor Naseeruddin Shah and musician Vishal Dadlani. Rahul Gandhi backs protesters Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also commented on the demonstrations in a post on X. He said young people were protesting peacefully and exercising their constitutional rights, while demanding Kumar resignation over what he described as alleged vote theft. Gandhi criticised the detention of protesters in Delhi and questioned the government response to the demonstrations. Because a lathi can stop a crowd, but not a question, Gandhi said, adding that he believed the issue would continue to be raised. His comments were made amid separate demonstrations in Delhi, where more than 700 protester, including Aam Aadmi Party leaders and members of student organisations, were detained during a protest near Jantar Mantar. ‘Will continue the fight for democracy’: Atishi Former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi also backed the demonstrations, saying that her party would continue its campaign over the Election Commission controversy. The protests in Delhi and Mumbai are part of a wider political dispute over the functioning of the Election Commission and the SIR exercise. Opposition parties have cited the reported objections by Sandhu and Joshi as a reason to demand action against Kumar, while the Election Commission has maintained that differences and internal observations are part of institutional deliberation. What triggered the controversy? The latest controversy began after The Indian Express reported that Sandhu and Joshi had formally recorded objections at least 14 times over 10 months. The reported issues included voter registration, deletion and restoration of names from electoral roll, changes to Form 6 and access to electoral roll data bases. The report prompted renewed criticism from opposition parties and calls for Kumar resignation. The Election Commission, however, rejected the suggestion that the reported differences demonstrated a break down in its functioning, saying that its final decisions were unanimous. The Mumbai protest therefore reflect a broader political and institutional debate over the Election Commission decision making process, electoral roll revisions and the handling of internal disagreement among its members.