On Monday, Congress and allied parties staged walkouts across India, marching in cities from Karaikudi to Delhi to protest what they call "vote chori"—the alleged deletion of 13.3 million voters.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, whose tenure has seen the controversial implementation of the Systematic Integrity Review (SIR), faces accusations that two EC officials raised 14 objections over a ten‑month span, yet the commission proceeded with the voter roll revision.
P Chidambaram, a former Union Minister, said the protests echoed a West Bengal precedent, where 91% of appeals reinstated names, urging the EC to restore the pre‑SIR rolls and, if needed, cancel elections held under Kumar.
Youth wings like the National Students' Union of India staged a dramatic march from the IYC office to Jantar Mantar, with masked demonstrators and metal chains, demanding the CEC's resignation and threatening to gherao the EC office.
Police detained several Congress youth members during the march, and the opposition has called for a judicial inquiry, an immediate suspension of the SIR exercise, and the impeachment of the CEC.