Rahul Gandhi demands resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, makes allegations against Modi and Shah

PTI, September 24, 2026, New Delhi :  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar were "deshdrohis" (traitors) as they "destroyed" India's vote, and demanded the immediate resignation of the CEC.

The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha asserted that Modi and Shah would be investigated for what they have done to this country.

Slamming Kumar, he said what the CEC has done is an act against the Indian nation.

"This is an attack on the Constitution and the legal structure of the country. You were supposed to ensure that the vote was protected. We have enough information to prove this with certainty. There are going to be consequences to this. We are not going to let democracy be destroyed and sit silent. Those responsible will be punished," the Congress MP said at a press conference at the Indira Bhawan here.

Rahul said his suggestion to Kumar is that he should turn approver as that would be an act of nationalism.

"PM Modi and Home Minister Shah are both going to be investigated for what is being done. They are at the top of this conspiracy and they will be investigated for what they have done to this country," Rahul said.

They are "deshdrohis" as they have destroyed the vote in the country's democracy, he said.

The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha played out a few videos and asked people to listen to the tone of Modi and Shah.

In the videos, Shah is heard saying BJP will be in power for 30 years and the prime minister raising the slogan 'Abki Baar 400 Paar'.

No political leader who operates in a democratic environment can make such statements, Rahul said.

In India, there is a fundamental force called anti-incumbency which starts to resist and it does not spare anybody, he said.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Thursday too demanded the resignation of the CEC for "undermining" voter rights, and warned of a nationwide agitation, including "Jantar Mantar 2.0", if he does not step down within 48 hours.

Speaking at a press conference here, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke alleged that the electoral process had been "rigged" and the right to vote was being taken away from citizens.

"If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign within 48 hours, we will start a nationwide protest, before coming for a protest in Delhi," Dipke said, adding that if the CEC doesn't resign, "Jantar Mantar 2.0 will definitely happen".

He also said Opposition parties should not participate in polls if they believe they are being rigged.

"If you know elections are being rigged, you cannot participate. You will have to take a stand," he said.

Dipke alleged that Kumar was the "biggest threat to Indian democracy" and accused the EC of deciding who would be allowed to vote.

"Who is Gyanesh to revoke our right to vote?" he said, calling for criminal proceedings against him.

"Indira Gandhi wins Bangladesh war and within a year or two, massive pressure mounts due to anti-incumbency. It happens to leader after leader. It does not happen to Modi, Shah and the BJP - now we know the answer to it," Gandhi said.

"We can understand the popularity of a person, the performance of a government but anti-incumbency completely disappearing? It does not exist in Iraq of Saddam Hussain and in North Korea," he argued.

Vote is the foundation of our democracy, Gandhi said, adding that the vote protected by the EC protects the Constitution.

"If the vote has been destroyed then our Constitution has been destroyed, it no longer has the power. If the Constitution is destroyed laws are illegal and our institutions are meaningless," he said.

The EC is the institutional protector of this vote and from there everything arises. If the vote is destroyed Constitution is not functioning, laws are destroyed and institutions mean nothing, he said.

Gandhi said he is 100 per cent certain that the assembly elections and Lok Sabha polls are rigged.

"From vote chori, comes kanoon chori and from that comes sanstha chori," he said.

Earlier, Gandhi said enemies of the Constitution have been exposed and justice will be served.

"The enemies of the Constitution have been exposed. Justice will be served. I will address a press conference at 4 pm," he said on X, using the hashtag 'Vote Chori'.

Gandhi on Wednesday had said "vote chori" is a direct attack on the Constitution, and the BJP, the RSS and the Election Commission who organised it have committed an act of treason.

Gandhi's assertions came after The Indian Express revealed that questions were repeatedly raised on issues related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls within the three-member Election Commission (EC) by two of the three election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

The national rollout of the SIR has been under the supervision of all three commissioners. But Sandhu and Joshi have formally objected, on record, at least 14 times over the last 10 months four times on a single day to decisions taken and orders issued, they say, without their knowledge, according to the report in the English daily.