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Rahul Gandhi urges people to join 1 November Chalo Dilli march: 'Don't worry about police, lathis'
Rahul Gandhi urged people in a video to join the INDIA bloc's 1 November march to Ramlila Maidan and not to fear police or lathis. The bloc holds a 'public impeachment' of CEC Gyanesh Kumar on Friday. Delhi Police sources say permission for the rally stands; the Congress alleges obstruction.
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Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, urged people on Thursday, 29 October, to join the INDIA bloc's "Chalo Dilli" march on 1 November and told them not to fear the police or their lathis. In a video posted on X, he said the Bharatiya Janata Party "will not have the guts to try any of their antics." The bloc says the march is meant to save democracy, put an end to what it calls vote theft and protect the Constitution.
What he said
Gandhi called the march "a march for the very soul of India" and said that it is not for any single party. He invited people who are fed up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to join, and he called on student groups of any political leaning to come if they feel that India, or their expression and ideas, are under attack.
The reports on his video do not include a reply from the BJP. The Congress's own statements say that the party expects efforts to stop the march, and the party has said that it will be peaceful.
The bloc has two events in two days.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Friday, 30 October | A "public impeachment" proceeding against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Mallikarjun Kharge's residence at 10 Rajaji Marg, chaired by former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar |
| Sunday, 1 November | March to Ramlila Maidan, with a rally at the ground |
The public impeachment is not a formal procedure under the Constitution. It is a symbolic hearing that the bloc has organised over the alleged irregularities in the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls. The march will follow it and end at Ramlila Maidan.
What the Congress says
Pawan Khera, the party's media and publicity head, said that efforts by the BJP to sabotage the march, including refusing trains in Telangana and using traders in Delhi for political ends, will fail and that the march will go ahead. He described the protest as one against "Mohan-Modi-Shah-Gyanesh," and said that it will be peaceful, like the bloc's earlier march to the Supreme Court. He asked people not to worry about the Delhi Police.
Khera also made claims that the reports do not verify. He said that 13.30 crore Indians were illegally disenfranchised through the revision, and that more than 50 deaths from suicide, cardiac arrest and other health complications were linked to it. These are the party's claims. The Election Commission has told the Supreme Court that the orders on the revision were passed with the consent of all three commissioners, and the court deferred the hearing of the petitions on the matter until after Diwali.
Delhi Police sources said earlier this week that the permission already granted for the rally at Ramlila Maidan had not been withdrawn. Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal had alleged that the police had stopped preparations for the protest. That allegation is from one report only and there is no independent confirmation of it in the coverage.
The march follows a week of exchanges between the BJP and the Congress. The BJP released a music video, Modi kahin nahin jayega, after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's remark about the Prime Minister at a Patna event, and the Congress answered with videos of Gandhi accusing the government of vote chori. The bloc has described the 1 November rally as its biggest so far.
The Election Commission has rejected the charge that the rolls are being manipulated. In an affidavit filed on 26 October it told the Supreme Court that its orders on the revision in June 2025, October 2025 and May 2026 were passed with the consent of all three commissioners, that notings on a file are not final decisions, and that no change was made to Form 6. The court gave the petitioners 10 days to respond, and the hearing will resume after the Diwali holidays.
The first test is Friday, when the bloc holds its public impeachment at Kharge's residence. The next is whether the march reaches Ramlila Maidan without incident and how many people take part. The government and the Election Commission have rejected the charge that the rolls are being manipulated, and the Supreme Court's hearing, after Diwali, will take up the legal questions.
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