Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday (October 26, 2026) accused the Modi government of resorting to every possible trick to protect Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar even after "countless revelations of vote theft".

"When information about the software used in SIR was sought through RTI, the Election Commission refused to respond, citing 'Trade Secrets'," Mr. Kharge said in a post on X, reiterating the demand for Mr. Kumar's resignation.

Mr. Kharge also urged people to join the Dilli Chalo march on November 1 to join the public rally against "vote chori" at Ramlila Maidan, saying it is a struggle to save democracy and not just votes.

In Uttar Pradesh, he claimed, details of 16.18 lakh Form-6 applications have not been made public. In Pilibhit in the state, irregularities were detected in the records of 10,470 voters. And now they have been forced to order an investigation of Forms 6, 7, and 8 across the entire State, Mr. Kharge said.

"The three key demands of the INDIA alliance against the collusion between BJP and the Election Commission are clear -: CEC Gyanesh Kumar must resign, and the 2023 law providing him protection must be repealed. SIR must be immediately halted. The names of voters illegally removed must be restored. All elections must be conducted using paper ballots," he said.

"This is not just a fight to save votes; it is a people's struggle to save the Constitution and democracy," Mr. Kharge added.

He began his lengthy post by saying, "Even after countless revelations of vote theft, the Modi government is resorting to every possible trick to protect Gyanesh Kumar!"

The Congress on Sunday (October 25, 2026) accused the Election Commission of hiding information about the controversial ECINET software and claimed that the poll body is repeatedly refusing to provide this because it will reveal the reality of the "massive, centralised manipulation" that has taken place in the "disastrous" SIR.