Chennai, October 6, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The DMK on Tuesday extended support to the INDIA bloc’s protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, even as the party did not participate in the protest march in New Delhi.
DMK spokesperson T.K.S. Elangovan said protesting was a fundamental right and criticised the stopping of opposition MPs who were marching towards the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters.
“When they want to protest and take out a procession to the Election Commission, they should be allowed to do so. But the BJP government stopped them from going. It is the fundamental right of an individual to protest. But they put up barricades to prevent them, so Rahul Gandhi had to climb over them,” Elangovan told IANS.
The INDIA bloc MPs had marched from Parliament towards Nirvachan Sadan, demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged discrepancies in the SIR process. The march was stopped by police near the NITI Aayog area.
Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi climbed a police barricade while waving the Tricolour as security personnel halted the march. Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were subsequently briefly detained by police.
Addressing reporters, Rahul Gandhi claimed that around 300 MPs from both Houses of Parliament had sought to meet Gyanesh Kumar and the other Election Commissioners but were prevented from reaching the ECI office.
“Here, there were around 300 MPs from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. We wanted to meet Gyanesh Kumar and his two colleagues, but the police have stopped us. We are representatives of this country, and we represent the country’s people,” Gandhi said.
He questioned why the MPs were not being allowed to proceed when the Election Commission office was only about 50 yards away. Gandhi said the MPs wanted to meet the poll panel to raise their concerns and questioned the implications for democracy if elected representatives could not meet the Election Commission.
The DMK and the Aam Aadmi Party were among the key INDIA bloc parties that stayed away from Tuesday’s march, although the DMK publicly expressed support for the right to protest.
The protest comes amid a wider political dispute between the Opposition and the Election Commission over the SIR of electoral rolls, with opposition parties alleging irregularities in the revision process. The Election Commission has maintained that its electoral-roll processes are being conducted according to the law.
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