Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the INDIA bloc MPs’ protest against the Election Commission, urging him to “stop this drama” and learn from Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and BJP workers.
Reacting to the protest, Rijiju said the Congress and Rahul Gandhi had been repeatedly attacking institutions such as the Election Commission
and the Supreme Court.“The time has come to put an end to the daily drama orchestrated by the Congress party—specifically Rahul Gandhi and his associates—who constantly attack institutions like the Election Commission and the Supreme Court,” Rijiju said.
He questioned how long such a situation would continue, saying, “This drama has been ongoing since 2014; how long will it continue?”
Rahul Gandhi marches towards EC office
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was among several Opposition leaders who marched towards the Election Commission’s office on Tuesday as protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar entered their fifth day.
The INDIA bloc MPs marched towards Nirvachan Sadan in an attempt to reach the Election Commission office.
The Opposition parties are protesting alleged irregularities in decisions of the poll body, particularly the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, described as a clean-up drive of electoral rolls.
The previous march from Parliament to the Election Commission was held on August 11, 2025, against the SIR. The current protests began on October 2, when Opposition parties and civil society groups called for a gathering over the revision of electoral rolls.
Opposition leaders detained during march
Several Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were briefly detained during their march towards the Election Commission office. Congress MPs have also claimed that police and security personnel stopped them from moving towards Nirvachan Sadan as part of the protest, which includes a demand for the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
The BJP has dismissed the march. Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called it another attempt to “relaunch Rahul Gandhi” and accused the Congress of wanting to “spread anarchy” across the country.
What Rijiju said about Rahul Gandhi
Rijiju said that in a democracy, serving people earns a political mandate. He alleged that when the Opposition failed to secure such a mandate, it attacked the Election Commission. He also referred to the Supreme Court and said that when the court asks for an apology, the Opposition then attacks the court and says it has no faith in it.
Rijiju said the Congress had labelled the Election Commission and the government as “thieves”.
“Such behaviour will neither strengthen democracy nor lead to a resurgence of the Congress party,” he said. He specifically urged Rahul Gandhi to learn from Modi and BJP workers, who, according to Rijiju, serve society and the country “selflessly and continuously”.
“If you engage in service, the public will place their trust in you; mere theatrics will not suffice,” Rijiju said.
CEC row and protests
Since October 2, the protests have involved hundreds of security personnel, barricades and other restrictions, along with detentions. The protesters include activists and civil society members such as All India Students’ Association president Neha Bora, Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Nikhil De and Nandita Narain.
They had visited Parliament Street police station over the protest call at Jantar Mantar last Monday but were denied permission.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), whose previous protest at Jantar Mantar in July against alleged examination irregularities led to the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, also launched a parallel protest on October 2 at Shivaji Park in Mumbai.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke announced a “mobilisation” at Jantar Mantar on October 10. On Monday, the CJP welcomed the INDIA bloc’s proposed protest and said its own October 10 mobilisation should be viewed as a broader youth call rather than that of a particular organisation.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to pass an interim order restraining Gyanesh Kumar from functioning over allegations that he took several decisions unilaterally despite objections from the other two election commissioners. The court said it could not proceed on “assumptions” without first verifying the facts.
Separately, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Connaught Place) Vivek Bhagat was promoted to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police in a routine Delhi Home Department order on Monday. The order was later put on hold at his request. This came two days after he was named in a police complaint filed by a female journalist alleging sexual harassment while she was reporting on a protest near Jantar Mantar. The allegation led to a protest near Parliament Street Police Station, with protesters seeking an update on the complaint.
