Govt. he is not afraid of inflation because he knows it will only steal votes, says Kharge

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. File. | Photo credit: ANI

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday (Oct 26, 2026) said that while people were battling “perverse” inflation during the festive season, the government was busy “stealing votes”.

Appealing to citizens to join the Chalo Dilli assembly of INDIA block on November 1, Mr. Kharge said that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar should resign and that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls should be stopped immediately.

“It is the festival season but at the moment you are facing inflation which is pushing back. Yet the government is absolutely not interested because it only knows how to steal votes,” Mr Kharge said in a video statement posted on his X handle.

The Congress chief alleged that vote stealing was going on on a massive scale and was still going on. “The constitutional right to vote of millions of Indians is at risk. CEC Gyanesh Kumar is solely responsible for this. He did all this on the instructions of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister,” Mr. Kharge said.

In a separate post on X, Mr Kharge said the Election Commission had refused to provide information under the Right to Information Act about software used for SIR, citing “trade secrets”.

Traders’ concerns

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also responded to reports that the protests planned for the festive season had affected traders in Delhi, saying the agitation would end within 30 seconds if the CEC was removed.

“To every trader in Delhi: We love you and we hear you. The government has shut down the metro, sealed our roads and locked down our capital. Nothing is safe with a stolen vote – your business, your savings, your children’s future,” Mr Gandhi said in a post on X. “Tell Modi to fire Accused No. 4, Gyanesh Kumar,” he added 30 seconds in.

Mr Gandhi’s post came after traders staged a protest in Old Delhi’s Kashmir Gate area, demanding that the Congress postpone its November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan until after Deepavali.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Brijesh Goyal said the rally could affect large wholesale markets within a five kilometer radius of Ramlila Maidan. These include Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazar, Khari Baoli, Naya Bazar, Chawri Bazar, Daryaganj and Kashmir Gate.

Published – 26 Oct 2026 13:41 IST