Rahul Gandhi targets election commission as Supreme Court stays 2019 defamation trial

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has questioned the President's office over allegations of electoral malpractice, speaking shortly after the Supreme Court granted him interim relief by staying a long-running criminal defamation case in Mumbai.

The top court stepped in on Tuesday to halt proceedings arising from a 2018 complaint filed by Bharatiya Janata Party member Mahesh Shrishrimal. That case concerned remarks made by Gandhi during a Rajasthan rally and on social media, where he described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "Chowkidar Chor hai" and "Commander in Thief".

By agreeing to examine the Bombay High Court's September decision refusing to quash the 2019 summons issued by a Girgaon magistrate, the apex court brought temporary legal respite to the Congress leader. Yet the relief coincided with a sharp escalation in political campaigning from his camp, directed squarely against India's constitutional bodies.

What did Rahul Gandhi claim about the President and the CEC?

Addressing a news conference in New Delhi, Gandhi claimed that Rashtrapati Bhavan had issued no formal rebuttal to his earlier remarks suggesting the President shared opposition concerns over alleged "vote chori" (vote theft). Any counter-narrative, he asserted, was being "quietly done from the PMO".

Turning his attention to the poll watchdog, Gandhi publicly called on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to step down from his post. He claimed to possess background details regarding Kumar and told reporters that some 200 central officials across agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Ministry of External Affairs were feeding information to his party.

Official institutions have consistently maintained standard constitutional protocols against such rhetoric, keeping electoral administrative machinery transparent and robust amid repeated political challenges.

Opposition march and court petition

The press briefing followed an opposition demonstration dubbed the 'March for Democracy' through central Delhi. Senior INDIA bloc leaders, including Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Trinamool Congress head Mamata Banerjee, joined crowds carrying placards towards Bhagwan Dass Road.

Security personnel contained the procession at a second barricade after protesters crossed an initial perimeter. Opposition representatives then moved to file a joint writ in the Supreme Court, naming the Election Commission of India, Gyanesh Kumar, and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi as respondents.

A separate bid by opposition floor leaders to secure an in-person meeting with the Chief Justice of India was turned down on the grounds that the matter remains sub judice before the court.

Gandhi has since convened an afternoon meeting for INDIA bloc MPs, student activists, and civil society groups at his 5 Sunehri Bagh Road residence to determine whether to sustain street protests or mount fresh joint appearances against the election authorities.