New Delhi: A 10-member delegation of INDIA bloc leaders met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday evening to submit a memorandum seeking her intervention to remove the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of electoral rolls.
The four-point memorandum called for the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, an end to the SIR of electoral rolls, reintroduction of ballot papers for elections and a review of elections held over the past two years.
Besides Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who has been at the forefront in the protests over the last few days, the others who met President Murmu were Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata AITC chief Mamata Banerjee, CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby, CPI’s D Raja, Samajwadi Party leader Rajeev Rai, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, RJD MP Manoj Jha and VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan.
INDIA bloc leaders submitted a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu in their meeting at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
“… We have incontrovertible proof that ‘Vote Chori’ has taken place on a massive scale in election after election. Assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, MP, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Delhi and West Bengal have been stolen. Both the EVMs and the electoral rolls have been completely manipulated by the BJP in several other Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. This is a crime against the nation, and the Chief Election Commissioner has blatantly cheated and lied to the Supreme Court of India to cover up this crime. The Right to Vote is the foundation of representative democracy enshrined in Article 326 of the Indian Constitution. The Election Commission is its constitutional custodian, not its proprietor. He is answerable to the Constitution of India and not to his political masters. No institution can be permitted to alter the rules governing that right, evade accountability for its decisions, and silence those who demand answers through evasion, repression and criminal conduct…” reads the memorandum
— ANI (@ANI) October 9, 2026
A big group of Opposition MPs, carrying a large ‘Save Democracy’ banner, marched from Parliament, many of whom staged a sit-in protest at Vijay Chowk where they were stopped by police. The leaders whose names had been submitted to Rashtrapati Bhavan proceeded to meet the President.
Rahul ‘shocked’
After the meeting, which lasted nearly an hour, Rahul said he was “shocked” that President Murmu accepted their memorandum without denying or questioning their allegations.
“We clearly said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar are conspiring against Indian democracy. The President did not deny, question or argue against any of our statements. She accepted what we said and then told us that we needed to provide her with proof of electoral fraud,” Rahul told journalists.
“I told her that the evidence of vote theft is known to the entire country. State after state has been stolen, and yet the President wants us to provide her with proof. We will be happy to submit it to her. I expected the President to deny our allegations. I was shocked that she accepted what we said,” Rahul remarked.
#WATCH | Delhi: After meeting the President, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi says, “The main thing is that I expected the President of India to deny that ‘vote chori’ was taking place. I expected her to say that India has a free and fair electoral system. I was shocked and stunned that the President of India accepted what we said…”
— ANI (@ANI) October 9, 2026
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee didn’t complain about said President Murmu’s reaction on meeting the delegation.
“We have submitted a memorandum. We have taken a positive view of her response as she said she would investigate, go through the details and that she needed evidence. She has asked us to send the evidence, which we said we would,” Mamata told reporters.
“The country is very concerned, and as the custodian of the Constitution, she should take proper care to ensure that democracy is preserved. She was very positive and responded that she would investigate,” Mamata added.