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Snapshot of the day
November 2, 2026
Sidharth Bhatia, Kalrav Joshi, Anirudh S.K.
The fact that a noxious haze blocked out Delhi’s afternoon sun yesterday proved no bar for thousands of citizens, who marched along Minto Road into Ramlila Maidan for the INDIA bloc’s ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ rally demanding chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. Though the Congress and other opposition parties have faced criticism over the last several years for failing to mobilise their cadre, yesterday’s Ramlila rally witnessed the largest such mobilisations by a united opposition in recent memory, reports Sravasti Dasgupta, noting the prominent participation not just of the grand old party but also the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Left parties. Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi said during the rally that CEC Kumar has “committed the biggest crime” of “[trying] to shut off the country’s voice and its soul” and that for the opposition, ensuring that citizens retain their voice is “even more important than religion”.
If the visuals were anything to go by, Ramlila Maidan was a sea of flags. And the rally’s message went well beyond alleged vote theft. “Beyond alleged electoral irregularities, protesters raised issues ranging from unemployment, inflation to women’s safety and the rights of marginalised communities,” reports Deccan Herald. [See Reportedly]
For its part the BJP said the rally was a “complete waste of time”. Home minister Amit Shah, who was in Chandigarh for a police event, accused the Congress of rubbing salt into the wounds of Sikhs by holding the event on November 1, around the 42nd anniversary of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms. “Orders were issued from abroad to hold the rally on the very day that thousands of Sikhs were burned alive,” Shah said.
On the same day that the Commission for Air Quality Management imposed Stage 2 restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan in Delhi and the NCR, the Supreme Court allowed the manufacture, sale and bursting of certified green firecrackers for two days during Diwali. A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale permitted their use between 6 am and 8 pm on November 7, and between 7 am and 10 pm on November 8. The complete ban on firecrackers will be restored from November 9, the bench added.
Actor Imran Khan won’t have to quit India just yet because the Bombay high court today extended its stay of the government’s order that he leave the country in retaliation for his attending the October 10 protest against the CEC in Mumbai. But the court said that Khan, being a US national with an overseas citizen of India status, cannot claim the same rights as Indian citizens. It also directed him to offer an unconditional apology as well as an undertaking that he will not participate in more protests. Khan also had to be given an opportunity to respond to the government’s notice.
Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan on Monday moved the Supreme Court
