Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Imran Pratapgarhi and Deepender Singh Hooda, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, and others INDIA bloc leaders proceed in a bus towards the Supreme Court to file a petition against SIR of electoral rolls and poll irregularities during 'March for Democracy', in New Delhi. (Source: PTI)Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has invited INDIA bloc MPs, civil society members and student organisations for high tea at his Delhi residence on Tuesday after the Opposition’s ‘March for Democracy’ against electoral irregularities and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. A joint press conference of INDIA bloc leaders will be held in the afternoon, after the gathering at Gandhi’s 5, Sunehri Bagh Road, residence at 4 PM.This comes a day after Opposition leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Akhilesh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee, marched through central Delhi and submitted a joint petition to the Supreme Court against the Election Commission of India, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and other election commissioners over the poll irregularities.Story continues below this adSupreme Court today: The Supreme Court is set to hear pleas challenging the closure of several metro stations in Delhi amid the protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission.Meanwhile, Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Monday accused Delhi Police of mentally torturing him and his family during his detention at Delhi airport on October 10. Speaking to reporters at his native village in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district, Dipke alleged that police did not inform his family or lawyer about his whereabouts and accused them of releasing an edited video of his detention to conceal their actions. He also criticised the Delhi Police’s decision to denotify Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site, warning that “the entire country will turn into Jantar Mantar”.Live UpdatesOct 13, 2026 08:52 AM IST‘People of India won’t be intimidated’: Rahul Gandhi after INDIA bloc’s protest against CECCongress leader Rahul Gandhi thanked INDIA bloc leaders, party workers, civil society organisations and supporters who joined the protest, saying it was important to show the government that people would not be intimidated. In an X post, Congress leader wrote, "I was wondering where the cowards of the RSS who were beating the young children day before yesterday were. Where were those people? Because I didn’t see them. When we are standing there and when the people of India are standing there, why don’t you come out? Why don’t you wear your little scarves and come out and see what happens? Because you’re essentially, like the Prime Minister of India, bullies. You cannot stand up. You can only use power to fight."He added that there were no parallel protests but one collective movement, adding that the INDIA bloc would not back down.I’d like to thank every single person who came out today for this protest. I'd also like to thank the millions of people who showed support in their own way at 3pm. Thank you to the leaders of INDIA bloc, all the workers of the Congress party and workers of the INDIA bloc. Today was a very important day because we needed to show the government that the people of India are not going to be intimidated. You cannot beat us, threaten us, frighten us. We will not accept being bullied. I was wondering where the cowards of the RSS who were beating the young children day before yesterday were. Where were those people? Because I didn’t see them. When we are standing there and when the people of India are standing there, why don’t you come out? Why don’t you wear your little scarves and come out and see what happens? Because you’re essentially, like the Prime Minister of India, bullies. You cannot stand up. You can only use power to fight. So, it’s very heartening to see what happened. I’m proud of everybody. Everybody worked like a team. As I said in my press conference, there are no parallel protests. It’s one protest, and it’s a protest where everybody is standing together. Every single person is going to stand against these killers of our Constitution, these killers of our democracy. And we’re not going to back down. I’d also like to thank everybody from civil society organisations who came, supported us. We value your support, and we love all of you. Thank you all for coming out and defending the idea of India, the idea of the Constitution, the idea of our democracy. I’m extremely proud of every single person who came out on the streets. Thank you. आज के इस विरोध प्रदर्शन में शामिल होने वाले हर एक व्यक्ति का मैं दिल से धन्यवाद करना चाहता हूँ। उन करोड़ों लोगों का भी धन्यवाद, जिन्होंने दोपहर 3 बजे अपने-अपने तरीके से इस आंदोलन को समर्थन दिया। INDIA गठबंधन के नेताओं, कांग्रेस पार्टी के सभी कार्यकर्ताओं और INDIA गठबंधन के तमाम कार्यकर्ताओं का भी बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद। आज का दिन बेहद महत्वपूर्ण था, क्योंकि हमें सरकार को यह दिखाना था कि भारत की जनता डरने वाली नहीं है। आप हमें मारिए, धमकाइए, डराने की कोशिश कीजिए, लेकिन हम डरने वाले नहीं हैं। हम आपकी गुंडागर्दी बर्दाश्त नहीं करेंगे। मैं सोच रहा था कि RSS के वो कायर लोग कहाँ थे, जो परसों हमारे युवा साथियों को पीट रहे थे? कहाँ थे वो लोग? आज तो मुझे उनमें से कोई दिखाई नहीं दिया। जब हम वहाँ खड़े हैं, जब देश की जनता वहाँ खड़ी है, तो तुम बाहर क्यों नहीं आते? अपनी छोटी-छोटी गमछियाँ पहनकर क्यों नहीं बाहर आते हो और देखते हो कि क्या होता है? क्योंकि तुम भी देश के प्रधानमंत्री की तरह सिर्फ़ गुंडागर्दी करना जानते हो। तुममें सामने आकर खड़े होने की हिम्मत नहीं है। तुम सिर्फ़ सत्ता और ताक़त के दम पर लड़ सकते हो। इसलिए आज जो कुछ हुआ, उसे देखकर बहुत खुशी होती है। मुझे आप सभी पर गर्व है। सबने एक टीम की तरह काम किया। जैसा कि मैंने अपनी प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस में कहा था, ये अलग-अलग प्रदर्शन नहीं हैं। यह एक ही आंदोलन है, जिसमें हम सब एक साथ खड़े हैं। हममें से हर एक व्यक्ति संविधान के इन हत्यारों, हमारे लोकतंत्र को कुचलने वालों के ख़िलाफ़ खड़ा होगा। और हम एक कदम भी पीछे नहीं हटेंगे। मैं उन सभी सिविल सोसाइटी संगठनों का भी दिल से धन्यवाद करना चाहता हूँ, जो आज हमारे साथ आए और जिन्होंने हमारा समर्थन किया। आपके समर्थन की हम कद्र करते हैं। हम आप सभी से मोहब्बत करते हैं। भारत की सोच, हमारे संविधान के विचार और हमारे लोकतंत्र की रक्षा के लिए आज सड़कों पर उतरने वाले हर व्यक्ति का धन्यवाद। मुझे उन सभी लोगों पर बेहद गर्व है, जो आज सड़कों पर उतरे। बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद : नेता विपक्ष श्री @RahulGandhi— Congress (@INCIndia) October 12, 2026https://platform.x.com/widgets.jsOct 13, 2026 08:48 AM ISTSupreme Court todayThe Supreme Court is set to hear pleas challenging the closure of several metro stations in Delhi amid the protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission.Oct 13, 2026 08:46 AM ISTCJP to launch Rajasthan protest over police action against activistsThe Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) announced plans to hold a major protest in Rajasthan within the next 10 days, alleging that police had detained, assaulted and placed its members under house arrest to prevent them from joining demonstrations in Delhi.At a press conference in Jaipur, party spokesperson Deepak Baliyan alleged that he was kept under house arrest for four days in Alwar district, while other members claimed they were detained and beaten by police. The party also alleged that their phones were confiscated and they were denied legal assistance. The CJP has appealed to student groups, civil society members and social organisations to join the planned protest. IMPORTANT CJP’s National Org Co-Incharge Deepak Baliyan has been placed under house arrest! 40+ police personnel in civil dress are present at his home. After detaining him from his home at night, the Alwar Police have once again arrived at his residence. “My family is scared and fears for their safety. @AlwarPolice will be solely responsible if anything happens to any member of my family.” - @deepakbaliyan90— Cockroach Janta Party - CJP (@Cockroachisback) October 9, 2026https://platform.x.com/widgets.jsOct 13, 2026 08:44 AM ISTNagpur lawyers, students protest Delhi detentions over CECLawyers and student groups staged separate protests in Nagpur on Monday against the mass detentions during recent demonstrations in New Delhi demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. Advocates gathered outside the Nagpur District and Sessions Court, while members of the NSUI and AISF protested at Samvidhan Square in solidarity with students and the CJP. The protesters condemned the detention of lawyers and assault on students, saying the right to dissent and protest must be protected in a democracy. Former District Bar Association president Roshan Bagde said the demonstration was held to support the protests in Delhi and condemn the action against lawyers. (PTI)Oct 13, 2026 08:43 AM ISTINDIA bloc joint press conferenceA joint press conference of INDIA bloc leaders will be held in the afternoon, after the gathering at Gandhi’s 5, Sunehri Bagh Road, residence at 4 PM.Oct 13, 2026 08:41 AM ISTRahul Gandhi to host 'high tea' meeting todayLeader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has invited INDIA bloc MPs, civil society members and student organisations for high tea at his Delhi residence on Tuesday after the Opposition’s ‘March for Democracy’ against electoral irregularities and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd