Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday demanded the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resignation amid the row over the Election Commission’s handling of internal operations and ‘vote chori‘ (vote theft) allegations. He also sought immediate removal of Chief Election Commission (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar from his post over irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral roll.

Addressing a Congress Working Committtee (CWC) meeting, Kharge accused the Election Commission of withholding critical information related to the electoral rolls and the poll process. He said Congress would raise the issue in Parliament and take to the streets, if needed. “Entire nation is now aware that the CEC’s consistent efforts have been aimed at benefiting ruling party,” says Kharge at the CWC meeting.

In a post on X, Kharge alleged that the democratic institutions built by India’s freedom fighters had been systematically hollowed by the Modi government over the past 12 years. He accused the government of using conspiratorial means to remove names from electoral rolls and alleged that the Chief Election Commissioner had become a puppet of the Modi government.

कांग्रेस वर्किंग कमेटी (CWC) की बैठक में कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष श्री @kharge का वक्तव्य:

आज की बैठक महत्वपूर्ण है। फिर से कांग्रेस के कंधों पर अंग्रेजी राज की तरह ही भारत के लोकतंत्र और संविधान को बचाने की ऐतिहासिक जिम्मेवारी खड़ी है। अंग्रेजों से हमने वोट का हक छीनकर लिया था। आज उसी… pic.twitter.com/OPkZ2bbHpf

— Congress (@INCIndia) September 29, 2026

Kharge wrote, “This goes against the very thinking and spirit of Indian democracy, under which it was decided that every eligible citizen’s vote must be secure and every vote must be counted fairly.”

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Congress lists demands on electoral roll

Kharge listed the party’s demands on X:

1. Complete data on every major change in the voter list must be made public.

2. Voters whose names have been removed must be given full information and an opportunity to appeal.

3. Political parties must be provided with the voter list and related essential data in a simple format in a timely manner.

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4. Where evidence of serious discrepancies emerges, there must be an independent and time-bound investigation.

5. Critical data and decisions related to the election process must have such transparency that no party gets the chance to say that information is being hidden.

The Congress chief further called for an independent, time-bound inquiry wherever evidence of serious discrepancies emerges. He said greater transparency was needed in decisions related to the electoral process so that no political party could claim that information was being withheld.

Kharge accuses CEC of favouring ruling party

Kharge alleged that the CEC’s actions had benefited the ruling BJP and claimed that the two other Election Commissioners had described some of his decisions as “arbitrary and unreasonable”.

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“The entire nation now knows that he has been trying to help the ruling party. In such a situation, he does not have the right to be in his position and should be removed immediately,” Kharge said.

He also alleged that the CEC had acted under pressure from the Prime Minister and that Modi should resign on moral grounds.

Congress vows to raise issue in Parliament

Kharge said the Congress would continue to press for transparency in electoral rolls and ensure that the poll process remains impartial. “We should take a pledge at the CWC meeting that there should be transparency in electoral rolls and the poll process should be impartial. Institutions should be independent and the vote of every Indian should be protected,” he said.

He also thanked Congress leaders and workers for backing Rahul Gandhi, who has repeatedly raised allegations of irregularities in the electoral rolls and questioned the role of the Election Commission.

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“I would like to congratulate Rahul Gandhi Ji because the issues he raised first have proven to be factually correct. The people of the country are acknowledging this,” he mentioned in his X post.