The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), on Tuesday (October 13, 2026) accused the Congress of undermining constitutional institutions and creating disorder in an attempt to regain power. The BJP and JD(U) alleged that the principal Opposition questioned the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) credibility after electoral defeats but accepted the process whenever it won.

In a joint press conference at the BJP headquarters, Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh of the JD(U) shared the platform with senior BJP leader and Union Minister Piyush Goyal. Both the Ministers condemned the alleged mistreatment of a pregnant journalist covering the Congress-led protest on Monday (October 11, 2026).

On the protests, Mr. Goyal said that if the Congress genuinely doubted the impartiality of the ECI and the integrity of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, the six Chief Ministers of States where the party was in power or part of the ruling coalition should resign immediately. He referred to Karnataka, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, and Keralam, besides Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu.

Accusing the Congress of double standards, Mr. Goyal said the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his party had a “delulu is the solulu” (“delusion is the solution”) mindset, suggesting that they were living in denial over electoral setbacks.

Mr. Goyal asked Mr. Gandhi why he had repeatedly been alleging “vote theft” without submitting an affidavit or evidence; and why the Congress opposed the SIR when some of its own leaders had demanded electoral roll purification and even acknowledged its benefits.

The Congress and Mr. Gandhi were questioning the impartiality of the ECI, Mr. Goyal said, but had forgotten their own track record of allegedly rewarding former election officials with political appointments. The Modi government, in contrast, had introduced a law in 2023 providing for a selection committee, which includes the the Leader of the Opposition, to decide on the appointment of Election Commissioners, Mr. Goyal said.

“I don’t think Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party, or the Aam Aadmi Party, by sending its B-team (an apparent reference to the Cockroach Janta Party), can undermine Indian democracy through such attempts,” Mr. Goyal said, claiming that the protests had drawn a limited number of participants.

Alleging that Mr. Gandhi wanted “institutions that remain loyal to him”, the JD(U) Minister cited two instances of former judges during the Congress regime. He alleged that the Congress was now trying to discredit institutions, including the ECI and the judiciary, and pressure them through protests.

The Congress also questioned Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) after losing elections, but accepted the results whenever it won, Mr. Singh said. Recalling Mr. Gandhi’s allegations against Mr. Modi over the Rafale deal, he said the Congress leader had later tendered a written apology to the Supreme Court.

Accusing Mr. Gandhi of “creating disorder to seize power”, Mr. Singh said, “I think Rahul Gandhi is following in the footsteps of his grandmother. He wants to take the Congress party back to the 1974-75 period, when the Emergency was imposed in the country and everyone’s fundamental rights were taken away, including those of journalists, judges and the High Courts.”

The Congress’s policies and conduct were responsible for its shrinking electoral base, the JD(U) leader said, contrasting them with those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also criticised the Congress for what he described as an “unprecedented” protest outside the Supreme Court “to exert pressure”.

Several protesters who were arrested earlier this week after they protested outside the Parliament Street police station demanding an FIR against a police officer accused of harassing a woman journalist held a press conference in Delhi on Friday alleging physical assault, verbal abuse and custodial mistreatment. The woman journalist was covering a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and alleged irregularities in the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls.

‘Beaten by policemen’

News Diggy founder Gajendra Singh Bharangar, who was among those held while demanding an FIR against ACP Vivek Bhagat, said two students — identified as Dharmendra and Samarth — who were among those detained, were told that they were being taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. Instead, they were taken to the Mandir Marg police station, where they were beaten with belts and batons.

Their harassment did not end there, said Mr. Bharangar. He added that many of those sent to Tihar Jail were questioned about their caste and religion, with some inmates referring to them as “cockroaches”.

On October 5, a city court granted bail to all 17 accused and sought a report from Delhi Police on allegations of “custodial torture” levelled by two protesters.

Delhi Police had registered a case against the 17 accused, alleging that they were part of an unlawful assembly, obstructed a public area, roughed up police personnel and caused damage to public property.

Court’s observations

Acknowledging the gravity of the allegations, the court pointed out that while any person has the right to protest peacefully, assaulting police officers on duty is a matter of serious concern.

The court had also noted that the medico-legal cases of the accused “were not conducted immediately after the incident”.

Demand for probe

Mr. Bharangar and other activists and journalists on Friday demanded an FIR on the woman journalist’s complaint, an impartial probe into the alleged sexual harassment and an independent inquiry into their alleged custodial assault. They said they are also planning to file a fresh complaint alleging harassment and assault by the police while in custody.

Acknowledging the gravity of the allegations, Judicial Magistrate Animesh Kumar of the Patiala House Courts pointed out that while any person has the right to protest peacefully, assaulting officers is a matter of serious concern.

The Delhi High Court on Friday declined to urgently list a petition filed by the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) challenging the Delhi Police’s decision to deny permission for a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar. The court said it would hear the matter on Monday.

The plea, filed by IYC national president Uday Bhanu Chib, was mentioned by senior advocate Sanjoy Ghose before a Bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma.

The plea was first mentioned on Thursday, when the Bench allowed the counsel to mention it again on Friday if it was not listed. As the matter remained unlisted, Mr. Ghose again urged the court to hear it the same day.

“What is the urgency today? We will hear it on Monday. It will be listed on Monday,” the Bench said.

The IYC has challenged the Delhi Police’s order denying it permission to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar.

Meanwhile, IYC workers wearing Batman masks staged a protest on Friday against Mr. Kumar over the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demanded his resignation, saying names wrongly deleted from voter lists must be restored.

Led by Mr. Chib, the protesters attempted to march from Akbar Road towards Kartavya Path. The Congress’ youth wing said the police detained 25 protesters.

Mr. Chib said the organisation would fight to ensure that voters whose names had been deleted from the electoral rolls or who had been wrongly marked dead during the revision exercise were included in the lists.

“Whoever has had their name struck off the electoral roll or has been declared dead, we demand that their name be included. We will ensure their names are added,” he said.

The IYC has been demanding Mr. Kumar’s resignation, alleging that the SIR process had raised serious questions about the Election Commission’s functioning and the exclusion of eligible voters.

Ahead of the October 10 protest in Delhi, several groups, including the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), on Thursday ( October 8) alleged that protesters were being picked up from across the country.

“This government has crossed all limits now. A group of students from Pune was on its way to Delhi to join the October 10 protest. They have been detained midway and are now being taken away in a bus to an unknown location,” the CJP stated.

The CJP also shared a video purportedly showing youth inside a moving bus in Madhya Pradesh. One of the youth could be heard saying they have been detained by the Madhya Pradesh police.

CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka said Deepak Baliyan, the organisation’s co-in-charge, had been detained in Rajasthan. He claimed that thousands of volunteers had been detained in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

‘Peaceful protesters’

“In Kolkata, Abdul and his team were picked up by people in plainclothes and taken to undisclosed locations. These States have become completely crime-free, and hence the police are busy detaining peaceful students,” Mr. Ranka said.

Meanwhile, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), one of five Left organisations that jointly called for the October 10 protest, alleged that police personnel had been visiting activists’ homes and intimidating their families to prevent them from travelling to Delhi.

‘Vote chori’

“Since last night, the police have been visiting the homes of activists associated with SFI and other democratic organisations, detaining them and intimidating their families in an attempt to prevent them from travelling to Delhi for the October 10 protest against ‘vote chori’,” the SFI said in a statement.

The organisation said those detained included Arif, its Saharanpur district convener, and Daud Rao, a leader of the All India Kisan Sabha. It also alleged that activists were being pressured to disclose information, including addresses and personal details.

Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD) students on Saturday alleged that the university had closed the gates of its Kashmere Gate campus to students as their indefinite sit-in entered its seventh day. The protest is against two notices issued on July 31 mandating permission for gatherings and attendance requirements for PhD scholars.

Students and parents said no one was allowed inside the campus on Saturday, including some students who were scheduled to appear for an internal examination. The situation escalated late on Friday night after students alleged that security personnel restricted the delivery of food and water. According to the students, three of them remained inside the campus on Saturday of their own accord, while nine others continued their protest outside the gates.

Meanwhile, the university said in a statement that students had been informed in advance that its library, laboratories and certain blocks had been closed for maintenance and upkeep.

“One of the demands of the students was related to infrastructural issues on the campus, and in this connection, the university has been carrying out maintenance and upkeep on a regular basis,” the statement read.

Amid the escalating rifts within Hockey India (HI), a group of former players has thrown its weight behind HI president Dilip Tirkey and called for urgent reform in the running of the federation.

Some members of the group, of which illustrious names like Zafar Iqbal, V. Baskaran and Ashok Kumar are a part, gathered for a protest at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here on Friday.

While the aforementioned trio couldn’t be in attendance, Olympians Vineet Kumar and Romeo James, who were part of the Indian team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, were among those who made their voices heard.

Having been denied permission by the authorities to express dissent inside the venue, the former players held placards outside Gate No. 7.

The tussles in the governing body came into prominence on September 12 when Director General Cdr. R.K. Srivastava was stripped of all his powers and asked to explain repeated instances of non-compliance with Tirkey’s directives. Srivastava had travelled to the recent World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium despite Tirkey directing him not to do so.

The factional discord was exacerbated a couple of days later when Srivastava accompanied secretary general Bhola Nath Singh to Chandigarh for the formal announcement of the men’s Asian Champions Trophy even as Tirkey was meeting Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in New Delhi. An emergent Executive Board meeting on September 18 was then called by Bhola Nath without Tirkey’s sanction.

Former India women’s team captain Asunta Lakra, who had accused Bhola Nath of intimidating her with consequences after she raised objections to the alleged harassment of young girls in Jharkhand, was also part of the protest.

The dissenting group’s primary demand is for an ad-hoc committee — comprising former players, a retired judge or legal luminary and an observer from the sports ministry or Sports Authority of India (SAI) — to run the affairs till the next elections.

Pramod Batlaw, a member of the silver-winning team at the 1978 Asian Games, said it was paramount for HI to be cleaned up. “There are people in HI who don’t know anything about the sport. They want to send Tirkey out and take all the powers,” he told The Hindu.

Lawyers across all seven district courts in Delhi abstained from work on Monday (September 22, 2026) in protest against changes to the traffic challan system, particularly the requirement to deposit 50% of the penalty before a person can approach a court.

The day-long protest was called by the Coordination Committee of all district court Bar Associations over amendments to Rule 167 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989.

Advocates assembled at the district court complexes and raised slogans demanding that the Delhi government withdraw the amendment.

Under the revised mechanism, a person issued a challan can either accept it and make the payment or contest it through the prescribed portal before an authority designated by the state government. Such a challenge has to be filed within 45 days.

The lawyers have opposed the provision allowing a person to approach a competent court against an order of the designated authority only after making the mandatory pre-deposit.

The lawyers have also questioned the role given to the Executive in deciding a challenge before the matter can be taken to court, arguing that determining a dispute over a traffic violation is essentially a judicial function.

They said the mandatory pre-deposit could place an additional financial burden on those contesting a challan and potentially discourage them from seeking judicial redress.

The advocates also raised concerns about the digital nature of the new mechanism, pointing to difficulties it could create for people unfamiliar with online systems, including commercial and truck drivers.

They further contended that the procedure could leave limited opportunity for a person to place the circumstances surrounding an alleged traffic violation before approaching a court.

The district court Bar Associations flagged the amendments to Rule 167 in a circular issued on September 20, 2026.

With a nationwide protest call on Friday, Delhi University on Thursday evening asked its students to “stay away from Jantar Mantar” and prioritise safety and compliance with the law. The advisory comes amid criticism from students and teachers after the university and some colleges backed the government’s actions.

In a post on X, the university said unlawful assemblies at Jantar Mantar, which are strictly regulated as per Supreme Court directives, may invite legal action, and urged students to avoid the area. “Such activities can also pose serious risks to students’ personal safety and significantly impact their academic progress and professional opportunities,” it added.

Earlier, the university had said “vested interests” were exploiting students’ fears, while some college principals expressed support for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Students and faculty members said these responses reflect a “familiar playbook”.

In a post on Wednesday, Delhi University said it recognised students’ pain and anxiety but added that “vested interests” were exploiting their fears instead of easing them.Soon after, Shyam Lal College and Shaheed Bhagat Singh College posted messages backing Mr. Pradhan, praising his role in driving education reforms under the NEP.

On Thursday, the university welcomed the government’s decision to set up fast-track courts for paper leak cases and urged activist Sonam Wangchuk to end his fast in the interest of students.

Parichay, a second-year law student, said principals were “not realising that students’ frustrations have gone beyond campus” and added that the administration had “lost credibility”. Another student, Kanikshka Jinwal, said she did not see a future for herself in the country and that authorities appeared indifferent to students, including those injured during the violence.

With the new academic session set to begin on July 28, discussions around the protests have intensified within colleges. “They have no academic grounds to justify such posts on official handles meant for admission and administrative information,” said Rajesh Jha, a professor at Rajdhani College. Arun Kumar Attree, Principal of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, said the administration backed the government after interacting with students, citing unrest on campus and lack of awareness about the steps being taken.

In an unprecedented move, shops, offices and restaurants in Connaught Place (CP) shut by 6.30 p.m. on Thursday following an advisory issued by the New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA), citing the prevailing situation in and around the area.

Hundreds of people have been gathering near Jantar Mantar since July 20 over the NEET paper leak and demands for the resignation of the Union Education Minister, with crowds spilling beyond the designated protest site.

In a circular issued on Thursday, the NDTA said the decision was taken after telephonic advice from the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), who asked that all commercial establishments in CP close by 6.30 p.m.

NDTA president Atul Bhargava said the advisory was issued “keeping in mind the tense situation around Jantar Mantar and CP”. The association urged all shop owners, offices and restaurants to cooperate and strictly comply with the directions.

The circular cited a “critical situation” in the area due to the Cockroach Janta Party-led (CJP) protest, and asked establishment owners to ensure compliance to avoid any untoward incident, including loss of property or injury.

While the advisory was issued for Thursday, Mr. Bhargava told The Hindu that a similar direction could be considered on Friday after reviewing the situation. He said there are around 1,400 shops and over 1,000 offices in the area.

“The traders have been reporting losses of around 20–35% over the past three days. The number of protesters near CP is also increasing, so it is in everybody’s best interest to close shops despite the losses. No damage has been reported so far. We will assess the situation tomorrow and decide,” he said.

Responding to the advisory, the Cockroach Janata Party, in a post on X, questioned the move: “Order to close all shops in Connaught Place by 6:30 p.m. this evening, what does the government want to do?”

Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal also raised concerns over the security arrangements. “Order to close all shops in CP by 6:30 p.m. this evening and intense security. Piles of ambulances. Will the Central government once again act against students at Jantar Mantar today?” he said in a post on X.

Several people detained by the police on Monday were picked up from locations away from the protest site at Sansad Marg, families and lawyers have alleged.

Among them was a 55-year-old man who was detained from Connaught Place. His family said he was not part of the protest and had reached the area unaware of his surroundings due to a medical condition. “He suffers from episodes that cause memory loss and delusions,” his wife, a resident of Delhi Gate, said while waiting outside the Mandir Marg police station.

“Some of those brought to Mandir Marg were not even at the protest site. They were picked up from areas near the Pracheen Hanuman Mandir in C.P. The 55-year-old was one of them,” said advocate Vertika Mani Tripathi.

According to the woman, her husband had left home on Monday afternoon, saying he was going for namaz, but did not return. “We got a call around 11.30 p.m. informing us that he had been detained,” she said, adding that her husband stopped working three years ago due to his illness.

The woman said she was allowed to meet him briefly at the police station around 2 a.m. to hand over his medicines. “I waited till 4 a.m. and returned on Tuesday afternoon for his release,” she said.

Mass detentions

Police detained over 70 people on Monday and lodged them in lock-ups in North West and New Delhi districts. On Tuesday, around 60 detainees from the North West district were produced before a court and subsequently released. Those brought to Mandir Marg police station were mostly students in the 18–25 age group, according to people present there.

“All were eventually released after some procedural delay,” said a law student who had come to secure a friend’s release.