Rahul Gandhi's claims on President's response 'incorrect': Sources

Sources refuted claims by Rahul Gandhi that President Murmu's response to 'vote chori' allegations was 'shocking'. The INDIA bloc met the President, demanding the CEC's resignation and a return to paper ballots over electoral malpractice claims.

The claims being made by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi are "incorrect", and it is unfortunate that President Droupadi Murmu is being dragged into a controversy in the matter, sources said on Friday.

"The claims being made by the Leader of Opposition are incorrect. It is unfortunate that the President is being dragged into a controversy in the matter," sources said.

Rahul Gandhi 'shocked' by President's response

The remarks came after Rahul Gandhi claimed that he was "shocked" by the President's response during a meeting with a delegation of INDIA bloc leaders, who submitted a memorandum raising allegations of "vote chori" and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

In a post shared on X, Rahul Gandhi said, "I just sat in quite an unbelievable meeting with the President of India. We presented our memorandum to her outlining PM Modi and HM Amit Shah’s gross subversion of India’s electoral system and seeking CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. I was shocked that the President did not deny Vote Chori. Instead, she asked us to bring her proof. We will bring her a mountain of it. The INDIA bloc will gladly submit every piece of evidence before her. We welcome her assurance that she will examine the matter and take action." I just sat in quite an unbelievable meeting with the President of India. We presented our memorandum to her outlining PM Modi and HM Amit Shah’s gross subversion of India’s electoral system and seeking CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. I was shocked that the President did not deny Vote Chori. Instead, she asked us to bring her proof. We will bring her a mountain of it. The INDIA bloc will gladly submit every piece of evidence before her. We welcome her assurance that she will examine the matter and take action. — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 9, 2026

The Lok Sabha LoP's stand found no vindication from INDIA bloc ally Samajwadi Party. Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav, whose representative had attended the meet, described it as a positive dialogue. "Her Excellency the President has conducted an extremely positive dialogue with the opposition delegation in the manner she has, and by demanding evidence in the context of 'vote theft,' she has given a great demonstration of her duty. This will further enrich our country's healthy democratic tradition, and the hope of maintaining constitutional integrity will be revived and strengthened even more. Today, the entire nation is looking towards Her Excellency the President with an unprecedented hope. This hope is unprecedented because such a grave crisis on democracy has never arisen before. Today, the youth, women, farmers, laborers, professionals, businesspeople, and every hardworking individual have united against the 'BJP's tyranny, corruption, and injustice.' The BJP and its allies will lose, and a united nation will win," he posted on X.

INDIA bloc delegation meets President Murmu

The INDIA bloc delegation, led by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, met President Droupadi Murmu on Friday evening and submitted a memorandum outlining four demands related to alleged irregularities in the electoral process. The demands included the resignation of CEC Kumar, repeal of the 2023 law granting immunity to the CEC and Election Commissioners, suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and restoration of 13.30 crore allegedly deleted voters. The Opposition also demanded a return to paper ballots and the repeal of Assembly elections held over the past two years, where it claimed conclusive evidence of electoral malpractice had been presented.

Following the closed-door meeting with President Droupadi Murmu, a 10-member Opposition delegation emerged to brief the press on the outcome of its representation. The delegation included Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. The bloc's regional leaders were represented by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party leader Rajiv Rai, NCP leader Supriya Sule and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah. The Left was represented by CPI(M) leader MA Baby and CPI leader D Raja. The Rashtriya Janata Dal was represented by Tejashwi Yadav and Manoj Jha, while Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi chief Thol. Thirumavalavan was also part of the delegation.

Leaders brief media post-meeting

Following the meeting, Gandhi alleged that the President had not denied the Opposition's claims and had asked the delegation to provide evidence of alleged electoral irregularities.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the delegation had apprised the President of its ongoing agitation and raised concerns over the functioning of the Election Commission. He said the President had listened to the delegation and indicated that she would examine the matter, consult the concerned parties and decide on the appropriate course of action. "We went specifically to apprise the President of the agitation we launched four days ago regarding the theft of votes, and we presented our case fully. We highlighted the issue of vote theft and the grave error committed by Gyanesh Kumar. We demanded that EVMs be set aside and elections be conducted using ballot papers. Furthermore, she asked for evidence regarding the instances of vote theft; we are currently compiling this evidence and will submit it... She listened attentively and stated that she would investigate the matter thoroughly, consult the concerned parties, and determine the appropriate course of action," he said.

Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also said the President had assured the delegation that she would go through the details and had asked the Opposition to submit evidence supporting its allegations.

Protests in national capital

The meeting came amid protests by Opposition parties over the SIR exercise and allegations of electoral malpractice. Opposition MPs had staged an agitation and march before meeting the President, criticising the Centre and the Delhi administration over security arrangements, metro station closures and internet restrictions in the national capital.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has rejected an application seeking permission for a planned protest by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar on October 10, citing short notice, past non-compliance and prevailing law-and-order concerns, officials said.

CJP activist Abhijeet Dipke has said he would travel to Delhi to participate in the protest and would not back down despite the possibility of detention or arrest. Police have directed teams to detain anyone attempting to stage the protest, irrespective of the location.

Additional security arrangements, including facial recognition systems, CCTV cameras, rooftop spotters and drones, are also planned across Central Delhi, officials said. The protest is expected to see participation from several student outfits and political groups, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of CEC Kumar. Police have maintained that permission has not been granted for the demonstration. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)