Rahul Gandhi calls FIRs medals and targets 100 as Gyanesh Kumar protests grow

Rahul Gandhi has dared the authorities to file more cases against him, calling police FIRs "medals" and setting a personal target of 100 criminal cases, as opposition MPs shifted their protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to Jantar Mantar on Wednesday.

Speaking in New Delhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said he currently has 45 FIRs registered against him. His defiance follows a fresh case filed by the Delhi Police against Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and their supporters after they allegedly pushed their way into Akashvani Bhawan during a march on Tuesday.

"Gyanesh Kumar will have to resign," Gandhi told reporters, declaring that the opposition no longer recognises him as the country's legitimate election chief. He went on to accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat of working alongside Kumar to destroy Indian democracy, calling those responsible "traitors".

What triggered the standoff

The clash stems from the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The INDIA opposition alliance claims the exercise is a cover for "vote theft" designed to strip millions of genuine voters of their rights. The Election Commission and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have rejected these claims, describing the revision as a routine administrative cleanup of the voter lists.

According to opposition leaders, the street protests began after the Election Commission refused to meet with elected representatives to discuss these concerns. Gandhi said MPs had attempted to meet the three commissioners on Tuesday but were turned away, leaving them with no institutional route to raise their objections.

Protests spread across Delhi

The move to Jantar Mantar on Wednesday came after Delhi Police blocked opposition MPs from holding a sit-in closer to the Election Commission offices. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the protests would not stop, regardless of how many cases police file against opposition leaders.

"Whatever the Election Commission is doing, Narendra Modi is behind it," Kharge said, adding that the alliance would take the issue directly to the public.

Other opposition parties joined the push. In Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party leaders and workers marched towards the state Chief Electoral Officer's office at Kashmere Gate before being stopped by police barricades near the Sindhi Academy. Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha dismissed the police action, saying "millions of FIRs" would not halt their campaign.