As protests against CEC continue, Rahul launches ‘Satyagraha’ digital platform.

As opposition leaders, civil society activists and youth organizations continued their protests on Saturday (October 3, 2026) seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi launched a digital platform ‘Satyagraha’ to map the resistance movement across the country.

In a video posted on his social media, Mr Gandhi said the truth was being suppressed and that as the leader of the opposition it was his responsibility to help resist it. Later in the evening, he said the ‘Satyagraha’ platform had received more than 10,000 responses in nine hours after it was launched. “So many battles are already being fought by Indians – silently, convinced that no one was listening. We are listening. Every post will be read,” he said.

Satyagraha was broadcast 9 hours ago. Since then, more than 10,000 people and groups have signed up.

Indians are already fighting so many battles – quietly, convinced that no one is listening.

We are listening. Every post will be read. We are already seeing stories in…

—Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 3, 2026

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has escalated the clash with the Narendra Modi government over the sanctity of the election process, demanding the dissolution of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, saying “all the elections were illegal”. He also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and state chief ministers were “illegal” occupants of their posts.

Protests and detentions

The next day, Delhi Police detained about 150 protesters, including All India Students’ Association national president Neha Bora, civil society activists Yogendra Yadav and Anjali Bharadwaj and Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan, as they marched from Patel Chowk towards Jantar Mantar to demand the removal of the CEC.

Independent Rajya Sabha member and senior Supreme Court advocate Kapil Sibal also joined the march but was not detained. The protesters opposed the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging irregularities during the exercise.

The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress, staged a protest at India Gate over alleged irregularities in the electoral roll revision process and demanded the arrest of the CEC.

‘Satyagraha’

In his address at X announcing the “Satjagraha” initiative, Mr Gandhi said that people across the country are fighting for their rights and “too often they are fighting alone”. He listed Gen Z, students, farmers, Adivasis, Dalits and women as participants in the various struggles.

“‘Satyagraha’ is an initiative to bring these voices together on one map,” he said, urging people who are fighting against what they see as injustice to register their movement on the platform. Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, he said, “Bapu taught us that truth is our greatest weapon.”

Mr. Gandhi said the platform will allow people to share their stories and find out who else has fought similar battles. He also promised to address their concerns “in Parliament, on the streets, through letters, wherever I am needed”.

In an accompanying video, Mr Gandhi said there were protests across the country on land, women’s rights, rights of Dalits and OBCs, education and examinations. “We want to help organize these protests, put them together on one map and work with you to see if we can help you solve what you’re fighting for,” he said.

“As the leader of the opposition, it is important to me to help people resist where the truth is being crushed,” Gandhi said. “The truth is important. It is important at the highest levels, but it is important that we fight for it in every corner of the country.”

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh linked the launch of the platform to protests against Mr Kumar. Referring to police action during Friday’s demonstrations, he said the “home minister’s police” had shown “barbarity” against people protesting peacefully on the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi.

Alleging that the government was formed through “stolen votes”, Mr Ramesh said detaining citizens, students and Congress workers would not deter the protests. “The protests continue today and people will continue to raise their voices,” he said.

He said Mr Gandhi’s initiative sought to “unite all these voices, no matter who or where they are resisting”, adding that “our unity is our greatest strength”.

“illegal election”

Speaking in Kalaburagi, Karnataka, Mr. Kharge said the opposition would continue to agitate against the SIR and alleged that the exercise was adversely affecting poor people, the working, uneducated and minorities. He demanded that new elections be held through ballots.

“Today, the entire country is governed by illegal elections. Modi is an illegal prime minister, Shah is an illegal minister and all chief ministers who have been elected anywhere are illegal,” Mr Kharge said, demanding that the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies be dissolved.

He also challenged the 2023 law which grants immunity to the CEC and election commissioners for acts done in the performance of their official duties. Referring to reports of objections raised by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi on aspects of the SIR, Mr. Kharge said their concerns did not change the process.

The Congress president said the opposition would intensify its campaign, referring to a proposed march by opposition MPs to the Election Commission on October 6. “Our job is to wake people up,” he said.

Thackeray supports CJP

In Mumbai, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray supported the Cockroach Janta Party-led protest at Shivaji Park against the CEC on Friday.

In a post on X, he described the demonstration as an “awakening” and said it was the beginning of a movement to “reclaim democracy”.

“Protests and questioning voices from across India will continue until democracy is regained from the regime,” Thackeray said.

Published – 3 October 2026 22:40 IST