Congress Leader K.C. Venugopal Vows Protests Until Chief Election Commissioner Is Removed

Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of subverting Indian democracy, All India Congress Committee General Secretary K.C. Venugopal on Sunday vowed to press ahead with ongoing protests until the CEC is removed from office.

Speaking on October 11, 2026, the Congress MP alleged that the ruling administration relies on individuals with criminal mindsets to weaken democratic structures. Branding the Chief Election Commissioner as “the biggest criminal India has ever seen,” Mr. Venugopal claimed that the Prime Minister and Home Minister placed him in the position specifically to dismantle the country’s democratic framework.

According to the AICC general secretary, the current leadership operates with the arrogance that it can retain power without public backing by depending on electronic voting machines, the Special Intensive Revision process, and a CEC influenced by the government. He framed the broader resistance led by opposition parties and organizations to recover civil rights and democratic institutions as a “second freedom struggle.”

The senior Congress leader strongly criticized the capital’s security posture, alleging the Centre deployed vast police and paramilitary forces against ordinary citizens on a scale surpassing responses to Chinese border incursions. He claimed that battalions shifted from various States amounted to a declaration of war on the public, calling the use of the Central Reserve Police Force against former Chief Ministers, Lok Sabha opposition leaders, and citizens raising democratic voices a national embarrassment.

Mr. Venugopal further contended that pre-emptive security cordons exposed a frightened leadership, deriding those directing the crackdown as cowards who had shrunk from “56 inches to four inches.” He accused the administration of disrupting travel for economically disadvantaged passengers through train cancellations, arguing that suppressing lawful demonstrations is more perilous than fascism. Despite official obstacles and restrictions, he reaffirmed that a massive protest rally would go forward in New Delhi.