India breaking: Day 2 of 'Save Democracy' march sees protests across cities over EC row, tell me about this news today

The “Save Democracy” marches mark a nationwide escalation by the opposition INDIA bloc against the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The Daily Star

• The Core Trigger: The agitation centers on allegations of voter list manipulation and procedural misconduct during the recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Opposition leaders cite media investigations suggesting major decisions were taken unilaterally without standard consensus among all election commissioners. The opposition has labeled this as “vote theft” (vote chori) and demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

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• The Protests: As part of a week-long mobilization from October 2 to October 8, Day 2 has seen demonstrations outside District Magistrate offices and key public squares across multiple citiesnotably in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, and parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Police in several jurisdictions have detained gathering protesters to prevent disruptions.

  The Economic Times

• Opposition Stance: Leaders across partiesincluding Congress’s Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, TMC’s Mamata Banerjee, and Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Uddhav Thackerayargue that democratic institutions are being compromised to favor the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Beyond demanding the CEC’s resignation, they are calling for transparent voter list disclosures, rollbacks of controversial electoral roll revisions, and a scheduled march to the ECI headquarters.

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• Official & Government Response: The Election Commission has rejected the accusations, maintaining that all statutory procedures were followed and that the roll revisions were purely aimed at eliminating duplicate entries and maintaining electoral integrity. Meanwhile, BJP leaders have dismissed the protests as political frustration following electoral defeats, accusing the opposition of systematically undermining public faith in constitutional bodies.

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