﻿<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!--<!DOCTYPE nitf SYSTEM "nitf-3-4.dtd">-->
<nitf>
  <head>
    <title id="Title">#Title</title>
    <docdata management-doc-idref="">
      <date.issue id="CreationDate" norm="" />
      <du-key id="rev-ver" generation="1" version="Default" />
      <du-key id="Parent-Version" version="" />
      <identified-content>
        <classifier id="newspro-nitf" value="r2" />
        <classifier id="Newspro-App" value="Epaper" />
        <classifier id="Content-Type" value="Story" />
        <classifier id="storyID" value="" />
        <classifier id="CmsConID" value="" />
        <classifier id="Desk" value="" />
        <classifier id="Source" value="" />
        <classifier id="Edition" value="" />
        <classifier id="Category" value="-1" />
        <classifier id="UserName" value="" />
        <classifier id="PublicationDate" value="01/10/2026" />
        <classifier id="PublicationName" value="HI" />
        <classifier id="IsPublished" value="Y" />
        <classifier id="IsPlaced" value="Y" />
        <classifier id="IsCompleated" value="N" />
        <classifier id="IsProofed" value="N" />
        <classifier id="User" value="" />
        <classifier id="Headline-Count" value="" />
        <classifier id="Slug-Count" value="0" />
        <classifier id="Photo-Count" value="0" />
        <classifier id="Caption-Count" value="0" />
        <classifier id="Word-Count" value="0" />
        <classifier id="Character-Count" value="0" />
        <classifier id="Location" value="" />
        <classifier id="TemplateType" value="1" />
        <classifier id="StoryType" value="Story" />
        <classifier id="Author" value="" />
        <classifier id="UOM" value="mm" />
        <classifier id="NumCol" value="0" />
        <classifier id="kicker" value="" />
        <classifier id="ByLine" value="" />
        <classifier id="DateLine" value="" />
        <classifier id="box-geometry" value="386,631,955,911" />
        <classifier id="Layer" value="Default" />
        <classifier id="numcol" value="4" />
        <classifier id="ArticleStyle" value="" />
        <classifier id="Epaper-Build" value="7.96.0.0" />
        <classifier id="ProcessingDateTime" value="Wed Sep 30 2026 23:23:43 GMT+0530" />
      </identified-content>
      <urgency id="home-page" ed-urg="0" />
      <urgency id="priority" ed-urg="0" />
      <doc-scope id="scope" value="0" />
    </docdata>
    <pubdata type="print" name="HI" date.publication="20261001T000000+5.30" edition.name="VJA" edition.area="VJA" position.section="1MAIN07FVJA" position.sequence="7" ex-ref="1MAIN07FVJA.indd" />
  </head>
  <body boxBorderWeightColor="" boxBorderWeight="">
    <body.head>
      <hedline>
        <hl1 id="Headline1" class="1" style="Headline1">
          <lang class="3" style="Headline1" font="Franklin Gothic Book" fontStyle="Regular" size="36">India bloc declares all-out war on SIR</lang>
        </hl1>
      </hedline>
    </body.head>
    <body.content id="Bodytext" CaptionAsBody="0">
      <p style=".Bodylaser">
        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Italic" size="9">Continued from page 1</lang>
        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9"></lang>
      </p>
      <p style=".Bodylaser">
        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">At a meeting attended by leaders of as many as 19 political parties that lasted over three-and-a-half hours, it was decided that all Opposition MPs will march to the Election Commission on October 6 and the leaders would meet the President to highlight the issues related to alleged irregularities in voter list revision.</lang>
      </p>
      <p style=".Bodylaser">
        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">The Opposition grouping discussed the demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation and said they will not relent till he is ousted.</lang>
      </p>
      <p style=".Bodylaser">
        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">The meeting held at the Constitution Club here was attended by top party leaders - Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, besides TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, besides left leaders.</lang>
      </p>
      <p style=".Bodylaser">
        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">Some Opposition leaders, including Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Jharkhand Chief Minister and JMM chief Hemant Soren, participated in the meeting online, as they could not be physically present.</lang>
      </p>
      <p style=".Bodylaser">
        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">"With unanimity, everyone vowed to fight together," Kharge said while addressing a joint briefing by the bloc leaders after their meeting, The Congress chief said they have decided on the joint action plan, whereby "save democracy" marches will be taken out in all districts from October 2-8 and demonstrations will be held before the district magistrate's office, where the youth and NGOs would also be invited.</lang>
      </p>
      <p style=".Bodylaser">
        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">"We will hold five big rallies during October/November and date and place would be decided soon. We will tell people how the government is snatching the rights of the people to elect their government for running the country," he said. Rahul Gandhi said INDIA bloc leaders are the "collective defenders" of the Indian Constitution and asserted that it is their "personal commitment" to ensure that those who have "destroyed" Indian democracy are punished.</lang>
      </p>
      <p style=".Bodylaser">
        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">TMC chief Mamata Banerjee asserted that the INDIA bloc is "very much united" and demanded immediate removal of CEC Kumar, alleging serious electoral wrongdoing and manipulation of the electoral process. "But now it has been exposed that Gyanesh Kumar is a 'daaku'. He stole people's votes... therefore, Gyanesh Kumar must resign immediately," she said. "If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign, we people will launch a massive movement from 'mitti to aasmaan' (from the ground to the sky). We will fight, we will win... we will protect democracy and the Constitution," she said.</lang>
      </p>
      <p style=".Bodylaser">
        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">Kharge said that on November 1 a mega rally would be organised in the national capital to highlight the issue of 'vote chori'. "Now everyone is realising that what Rahul ji was saying is correct and it is attracting attention. First Prime Minister Narendra Modi did 'notebandi' and is now doing 'votebandi', taking away the people's rights," he said.</lang>
      </p>
      <p style=".Bodylaser">
        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">Asked about reverting to ballots instead of EVMs, Kharge said everyone 100 per cent agreed that all elections henceforth should be held on ballot paper and that the laws framed by this "vote chori government" should be annulled.</lang>
      </p>
      <p style=".Bodylaser">
        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">According to sources, the rallies will be held in Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and one more city.</lang>
      </p>
      <p style=".Bodylaser">
        <lang class="3" style=".Bodylaser" font="Minion Pro" fontStyle="Regular" size="9">The Congress chief said Modi-Shah are making the Election Commission work like a "puppet", alleging that "These people are only winning elections by stealing votes.</lang>
      </p>
    </body.content>
  </body>
</nitf>