CWC demands resignation of PM Modi and Shah over ‘chori vote’

AICC President and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and AICC Secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal, Selja Kumari and Jairam Ramesh and others at Congress Working Committee meeting for September at Indira9ha, New Delwan, New Delwan 2026. Photo: AICC via ANI

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Tuesday demanded Mr Modi’s resignation, the removal of the CEC, the immediate suspension of the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls and the restoration of electoral rolls, alleging “match-fixing” between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

The CWC resolution called for the resignation of Mr Modi and Mr Shah after party president Mallikarjun Kharge said “Mr Kumar was a small fish and the real big ones are the Prime Minister and the Home Minister”. The remark was strongly supported by Congress Parliamentary Party President Sonia Gandhi.

In its resolution, the CWC said that the application of “questionable constitutional validity cannot be allowed to decide who can vote in the world’s largest democracy”.

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“This brazen Vote Chori was organized by the CEC on behalf of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Home Affairs. Nothing short of their resignation will ensure the safety of our constitution and hard-won democracy,” the resolution reads.

“For the Indian National Congress, the struggle to restore universal adult license in India is no less than the struggle for freedom itself,” it said.

The CWC expressed “serious concern over the systematic subversion” of India’s electoral system and said the Bharatiya Janata Party and its “elected officials” must understand that this “brazen theft” of the people’s suffrage will not go unanswered.

𝐑𝐞𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐬 𝐮 pic.twitter.com/l4SDnokQuk

— Congress (@INCIndia) September 29, 2026

Congress General Secretary (Organization) KC Venugopal said in a joint press conference with Jairam Ramesh that since the government is not listening to the people, the only way out for parties who believe in democracy is resistance.

“Gyanesh Kumar is only a tool. Whenever dictators lose the trust of the common voters, they will try to find special ways to stay in power. This (SIR) exercise could not have happened without the approval of Modi and Amit Shah,” Mr Venugopal said.

“The prime minister has a moral responsibility in this matter. We demand the resignation of the prime minister on moral grounds,” he said.

Mr. Venugopal said Wednesday’s meeting of the INDIA bloc would indicate the next course of action to counter what the Congress called vote chori (vote theft). “The Congress wants to organize a massive agitation to save democracy in the country with the help of all political parties. Tomorrow there will be valuable suggestions from INDIA block leaders; after that we will sit and formalize a clear plan of action for the future agitation,” he said, adding, “We will coordinate the agitation program of the INDIA block and the Congress program.”

We had a 2.5 hour CWC meeting where we discussed the most important issue regarding the CEC and fraudulent electoral system.

The entire working committee congratulated Rahul Gandhi ji for taking on one of the biggest issues facing Indian democracy through Vote Chori… pic.twitter.com/W5h5x9acCX

— Congress (@INCIndia) September 29, 2026

In his opening address to the CWC, Mr. Kharge made five demands, including publishing full details of every major change made to electoral rolls and providing electoral rolls and relevant data to political parties in a simple format and in a timely manner. He also called for independent and time-bound investigations whenever evidence of serious irregularities emerged.

“We are not looking at this issue only as a fight to win or lose an election,” the Congress chief said, adding, “We need to convey to every citizen that the most powerful person in a democracy is the common voter – not the prime minister, chief minister or leader in power.

Published – 29 Sep 2026 13:26 IST