Politics

Congress Accuses CEC of Corruption Amid Vote‑Protection Rally

By The Hindu Bureau

During a ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ rally at Kozhikode beach on Saturday, November 7, 2026, All India Congress Committee general secretary K.C. Venugopal said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar would soon be forced to resign. Venugopal accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of using the Election Commission to undermine the Congress and manipulate electoral outcomes. He cited the Haryana Assembly election, where the Congress lost by 0.4 percentage points despite expectations of a wave, and said a booth‑level investigation led by Rahul Gandhi revealed large‑scale vote theft. He also alleged similar manipulation in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Venugopal further accused Kumar of corruption during his earlier roles as Ernakulam District Collector and Public Works Department Secretary in Kerala, and that Kumar had overseen the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir under Shah. He criticised the 2023 amendment to the law governing election commissioner appointments, claiming the Modi government granted them legal immunity greater than that of the President, Prime Minister, and Chief Justice of India, and that the government removed the Chief Justice of India from the selection committee, replacing him with a Union Minister despite a Supreme Court judgment. Venugopal stated that 13.32 crore voters had been deleted from electoral rolls nationwide, saying the exercise threatened citizens’ voting rights and access to government benefits linked to voter ID cards. He warned that any attempt to suppress the protests in Delhi using police or armed forces would provoke a strong response from the opposition. The movement, he said, is about safeguarding every Indian citizen’s right to vote and democratic freedoms, not merely about electoral victories or making Rahul Gandhi Prime Minister in 2029. Published – November 07, 2026 09:52 pm IST