'Protests will stop in 30 seconds': Rahul Gandhi asks Delhi traders to tell PM Modi to sack Gyanesh Kumar

Rahul's appeal comes after a traders' body sought postponement of the INDIA bloc's November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan, citing concerns over festive-season business

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday reached out to Delhi's traders, urging them to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi to remove chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. He said the protests would stop "in 30 seconds" if the government sacked Kumar.

"To every trader in Delhi: We love you and hear you," he wrote in a post on X, accusing the government of shutting metro services, sealing roads and locking down the capital during protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

"With a stolen vote nothing is safe -- your shop, your savings, your children's future," he said. "Tell Modi to sack accused no. 4, Gyanesh Kumar and the protests will stop in 30 seconds," he added.

The outreach follows a request from the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) to postpone the INDIA bloc's November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan until after November 10. The traders' body warned that traffic diversions and transport restrictions could disrupt business during the festive shopping season. It also said earlier rallies, marches and road closures in Connaught Place and other parts of central Delhi had caused losses.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday also accused the Modi government of resorting to every possible trick to protect Kumar despite what he described as "countless revelations of vote theft".

"When information about the software used in SIR was sought through RTI, the Election Commission refused to respond, citing 'Trade Secrets'," Kharge said in a post on X, reiterating the demand for the chief election commissioner's resignation.

Kharge urged people to join the Dilli Chalo march on November 1 for a public rally against "vote chori" at Ramlila Maidan, describing it as a struggle to save democracy and not just votes.

In Uttar Pradesh, Kharge claimed, details of 16.18 lakh Form 6 applications had not been made public. He also cited irregularities in the records of 10,470 voters in Pilibhit, saying the authorities had been forced to order an investigation into Forms 6, 7 and 8 across the state.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa has directed officials to scrutinise all Forms 6, 7 and 8 entered by computer assistants since April 10, when the state's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) concluded.

The directive followed allegations by the Uttar Pradesh Congress on October 21 of large-scale manipulation in the Pilibhit Sadar Assembly constituency. The party claimed that thousands of voters' names had been changed even as their Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers and serial numbers remained the same.

"The three key demands of the INDIA alliance against the collusion between BJP and the Election Commission are clear -- CEC Gyanesh Kumar must resign, and the 2023 law providing him protection must be repealed. SIR must be immediately halted. The names of voters illegally removed must be restored. All elections must be conducted using paper ballots," Kharge said.

"This is not just a fight to save votes; it is a people's struggle to save the Constitution and democracy," he added.

The Congress on Sunday accused the Election Commission of withholding information about the ECINET software, alleging that its repeated refusals to disclose details were aimed at concealing what it described as "massive, centralised manipulation" during the "disastrous" SIR.