The Congress-led INDIA bloc staged a protest in Bhubaneswar on Sunday, 11 October, condemning alleged police excesses during an opposition demonstration in Delhi on 10 October and demanding the dismissal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The demonstration, which drew leaders and activists from multiple opposition parties, marched from Master Canteen Square to Lower PMG in Bhubaneswar.

Key Allegations Against Police

Addressing the gathering, senior Congress leader Santosh Singh Saluja alleged that police personnel had misbehaved with women protesters during the Delhi demonstration the previous day, calling the incident 'unacceptable in a democracy.' Speakers at the protest further alleged that the Union Home Ministry had created a 'war-like situation' in the capital, with police allegedly cordoning off political party offices, erecting barricades on roads, and detaining people arriving by train, Metro, and air.

According to the protesters' claims, police resorted to lathi charges and tear gas at several locations, with reportedly more than 7,000 people — including students, members of mass organisations, and political leaders — arrested and detained in connection with the October 10 demonstration. These claims have not been independently verified.

Electoral Roll Deletions at the Heart of the Dispute

Beyond the police action allegations, the INDIA bloc raised sharp questions about the Election Commission's handling of the SIR exercise. Saluja claimed that approximately 13 crore voters had been deleted from electoral rolls across the country within six months, a figure he attributed to the SIR process under CEC Kumar's oversight. Speakers alleged that the exercise had been specifically misused in Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal following Kumar's appointment.

Notably, the Election Commission has not yet publicly responded to these specific allegations. The SIR exercise, designed as a systematic audit of electoral rolls, has been a flashpoint between the ruling and opposition camps over questions of electoral transparency and citizens' voting rights.

Four Demands Put Forward

The INDIA bloc leaders laid out four clear demands at the Bhubaneswar protest: the dismissal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar; the restoration of names deleted from electoral rolls during the SIR; the reinstatement of the earlier selection mechanism for Election Commissioners — comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India; and the reintroduction of ballot papers in place of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

This comes amid a broader pattern of opposition criticism of the Election Commission's independence and the EVM debate that has persisted across multiple election cycles.

What Comes Next

The leaders warned that the nationwide agitation would continue until all four demands were addressed. They also announced a massive rally in Delhi on 12 October, signalling an escalation of the opposition's mobilisation campaign. The Odisha protest is part of what the bloc described as a coordinated national effort, with similar demonstrations reportedly held in other states following the October 10 Delhi events.