Morning Digest: Delhi turns into a fortress ahead of CJP protest against CEC; INDIA bloc urges President to repeal recent Assembly polls, and more

CJP protest: Trains cut, Internet down, Delhi turns into a fortressThe Delhi Police denied permission to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to hold its proposed protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday (October 10), citing alleged violations of conditions agreed upon for an earlier demonstration, even as authorities rolled out an extensive security plan across the national capital. Despite the denial of permission, the CJP released a poster that says “Final Call To Save Democracy”, asking its supporters to reach Jantar Mantar at 10 a.m. on Saturday (October 10) as they look to go ahead with the protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the rollback of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.Repeal recent Assembly polls, INDIA bloc urges PresidentThe Opposition INDIA bloc urged President Droupadi Murmu to “repeal” all Assembly elections held over the last two years, saying they have “incontrovertible proof” of “vote chori” (theft). Before their meeting with the President, the Opposition leaders gathered at the central hall of Samvidhan Sadan, where according to sources, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi claimed that the government is “rattled” and if the Opposition continues its campaign, the government could fall without completing its full term.Ministry of Home Affairs directs States to prevent CJP supporters from mobilising towards DelhiThe Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked all States and Union Territories to work with the Delhi Police and take preventive steps to stop protesters from mobilising towards the national capital. In a communication to Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police (DGPs), Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan flagged the “grave law and order and public order implications” of the proposed protest.24-hour Internet shutdown ahead of Jantar Mantar protest, IT Ministry issues takedown advisoryAs authorities gear up to tackle protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar, the capital is set to face stringent curbs on communication. The Delhi Police have imposed a 24-hour Internet shutdown around the protest site from 10 p.m. on Friday (October 9), while the Information Technology Ministry has urged social media platforms to quickly take down content referred to them by government Ministries and departments.Delhi Police compile ‘database’ of potential protesters, make calls and visit homes ahead of October 10 Jantar Mantar protestThe Delhi Police have compiled a ‘database’ of people likely to participate in the October 10 protest at Jantar Mantar and are coordinating with law enforcement agencies across States to prevent them from reaching the capital, sources said. As part of the preventive measures, police in several States have detained potential participants, questioned supporters about their plans and visited their homes ahead of the proposed demonstration. The effort to intercept protesters at their starting points mirrors the Delhi Police’s district-wise strategy to prevent people from reaching central Delhi. With the protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and student organisations, the police are tracking potential participants through social media activity, intelligence inputs and coordination with State agencies, sources said.Nothing can stop the youth of India: Chirag PaswanUnion Minister Chirag Paswan threw his weight behind the youth protest, while adding that there needs to be dialogue to resolve the current crisis. He also accused Opposition parties of politicising the issue. Responding to questions about the government clampdown ahead of Saturday’s protest, including the cancellation of trains headed to Delhi, internet shutdowns and the closure of Metro stations, Mr. Paswan said, “These are the youth of India. Nothing can stop them.”Congress attacks Modi government over ‘promoting’ monopolies; says it will end crony capitalismTargeting the Narendra Modi government for “promoting” monopolies, the Congress said India needs a level playing field where every business has a fair chance to compete. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said the Congress was committed to breaking the chain of crony capitalism. His remarks came a day after his exchange on X with U.S. billionaire Elon Musk, who asked whether Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani was the “real boss” of India.Government slams Vance’s remarks on Indian IT professionals as ‘deeply offensive’The Ministry of External Affairs slammed as “unwarranted” and “deeply offensive” U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance’s comments in which he called foreign workers, including Indian IT professionals, “indentured servants”. Hitting out at the U.S. government for its decision to suspend “labour certifications” from several Indian technology firms based in America, the Ministry said the steps would not “advance the shared ambitions of both countries”, indicating further trouble in the already difficult economic relationship between the two countries.No surprises in byelection results in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry as voters favour the ruling party candidatesThe ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which came to power in Tamil Nadu exactly five months ago, passed its first electoral test in Tamil Nadu, bagging the Madurantakam and Dharapuram (Reserved) Assembly constituencies. In Puducherry, the ruling All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) retained Thattanchavady. Both in Madurantakam and Dharapuram, TVK nominees Maragatham Kumaravel and P. Sathyabama were elected with comfortable margins of 20,040 votes and 9,471 votes respectively. They won from these constituencies in April-May 2026 as AIADMK candidates and then defected to the ruling party after resigning as MLAs.BJP targets Rahul over exchange with Musk; counters SpaceX founder’s remarks on spectrum policyThe Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised SpaceX founder Elon Musk for his remarks on India’s spectrum allocation policy, while taking a jibe at the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, over his exchange with Mr. Musk on X. “What is more surprising is that Mr. Rahul Gandhi, who earlier always used to accuse us of surrendering before the American leadership, is now championing the cause of Mr. Musk,” BJP national vice-president Ram Madhav told the media.West Bengal SIR: Supreme Court mulls having tribunals first hear deleted voters seeking re-inclusionThe Supreme Court orally suggested that lakhs of voters seeking inclusion in the West Bengal electoral roll deserved to be heard first, while appeals for exclusion pending before the Appellate Tribunals could be heard last. An affidavit filed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the Supreme Court in September 2026 revealed that more than 22 lakh voters purged from the electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal, on grounds such as “logical discrepancies,” had filed appeals challenging their exclusion.BJP wrests Assam’s Nagaon Lok Sabha seat after seven yearsThe Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in central Assam after seven years, with its candidate Devasish Sharma bagging almost 50% of the votes polled on October 6. The underlying narrative of the BJP’s bypoll victory was its inroads into areas dominated by Muslims, mostly of Bengal origin, who became a majority in the constituency after the 2023 delimitation.Eight BJP and two SP candidates from UP elected unopposed to Rajya SabhaAll 10 Rajya Sabha candidates from Uttar Pradesh -- eight from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and two from the Samajwadi Party (SP) -- were declared elected unopposed, an official said. “All the 10 candidates who were in the fray for the Rajya Sabha biennial elections -- eight from the BJP and two from the SP -- have been declared elected unopposed,” Returning Officer for the Rajya Sabha polls Ajit Verma told PTI.Telangana to make strong pitch for resolution of bifurcation issues at MHA meeting on Oct 22The State government has decided to focus on making a strong pitch for resolution of the pending bifurcation issues with neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. The government has entrusted the responsibility of presenting the State’s cause in the bifurcation issues to the Planning department. The subject matters of State Reorganisation of General Administration (SR-GC) Department, including the matters relating to Inter-State Council, Southern Zonal Council, and Punchi Commission, are allotted to Secretary to Government, Planning department - in addition to his regular duties.West Bengal bypolls: BJP retains Nandigram with record margin, wins Muslim-dominated RejinagarThe ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won both Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly seats in West Bengal by a huge margin in the byelection that was held on October 6. In Nandigram Assembly seat located in Purba Medinipur district, BJP candidate Hasi Rani Rath won by a record margin of over 1.22 lakh votes. The margin of victory for BJP candidate Shankharavh Sarkar at Rejinagar in Murshidabad district was over 75,000 votes.CTI seeks ban on protests in Delhi till Diwali, says business hitThe Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) has demanded a ban on large-scale protests in Delhi’s key commercial and central areas from Navratri till Diwali, citing their impact on businesses. The outfit also urged the government to designate a permanent protest zone outside the city. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal called for restrictions on large gatherings at Jantar Mantar, Parliament Street and Lutyens’ Delhi, saying repeated demonstrations and disruptions to metro services were affecting traders and customer movement.Government rejects ‘omnibus’ claims of enrolment of NEET-UG protestors’ biometrics on criminal databaseThe union government has opposed Rajya Sabha MP A.A. Rahim’s “sweeping” assertion that the biometric data of “thousands of protestors” has been enrolled on national criminal databases. An affidavit filed by the Home Ministry through the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) said blanket allegations of indefinite retention, storage and sharing of biometric information were not based on foundational facts.Suspension of U.S. green card programme will not impact workforce strategy: TCSTata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) said that it would comply with any directive from the U.S. government to continue its business in the country, stating that the latest suspension of the Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM) would not impact its workforce strategy or customer engagements. The statement comes after the U.S. suspended several IT firms, including Tata, from the PERM programme, which allows companies to apply for green cards for H-1B visa workers.Assam student who called home about drunken men in train coach found dead near tracks in Andhra’s SrikakulamA 21-year-old student from Guwahati who had called her family from a train to say she felt unsafe among drunken men in her coach was found dead beside the railway tracks in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district. The railway police suspect she fell from the running train; her family, however, alleges she was murdered.Supreme Court asks for medical report of Kerala’s tallest captive elephant, pulls up State governmentThe Supreme Court pulled up the Keralam government for its failure to inform the court of the measures taken to protect Uttoly Raman, the State’s tallest captive elephant, after the tusker’s custody was handed over to the government in June. The court directed the authorities to place the latest medical examination report of the elephant, which has been at the centre of a long-running ownership dispute, before it on October 12.Sri Lanka appeals to Saudi Arabia to overturn migrant worker’s death penaltySri Lanka is preparing to petition Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court to overturn a recent Court of Appeal ruling sentencing a migrant worker to death. “We are working on an appeal and are hoping to file it today or tomorrow at the Supreme Court,” President’s Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma told The Hindu from Riyadh. He is part of a team of senior lawyers and officials from the public prosecutor’s office sent by the Sri Lankan government to Saudi Arabia.