Morning Digest: Rahul calls SIR ‘treason’ as INDIA unites against ECI; SC to hear Punjab’s plea against CBI probe linked to CM Mann’s office

Rahul, Priyanka among 260 detained during INDIA bloc march to ECI in Delhi“What has been done to my country is treason,” Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said even as the Opposition parties closed ranks, marching from Parliament to the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) headquarters to demand the scrapping of special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, restoring the names of deleted voters and sacking of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Later in the evening, Mr. Gandhi, his sister, the Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and other MPs were forcibly removed, detained and huddled into a bus even as Mr. Gandhi resisted, attempting to wriggle out of the vehicle’s window.Bypolls held in five Assembly seats, one Lok Sabha constituencyBypolls were held in five Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry, and one Lok Sabha seat in Assam. The Madurantakam Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu recorded the highest polling percentage of 86%. The other Assembly seat which went to the polls in Tamil Nadu was Dharapuram, which saw a turnout of just over 80%. Both seats in the State were reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates.The protest that wouldn’t end: Inside Rahul Gandhi’s daylong siege of Akashvani BhawanAfter police appeared to have broken up the Opposition’s march against the Election Commission of India, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi improvised by turning the All India Radio campus in the national capital into the unlikely centre of an all-day sit-in that lasted well past sunset.‘Targeting of commercial shipping must end’: India condemns latest attack on vesselsThe Ministry of External Affairs condemned the targeting of commercial shipping, seafarers, and civilian infrastructure following two separate attacks in the Black Sea and off Oman that left two foreign seafarers dead and several Indian crew members injured. Eleven Indian crew members were injured on Tuesday (October 6, 2026) after a Panama-flagged commercial vessel MT On Peace was hit by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.Not part of INDIA bloc, BJD issues long clarificationThe Biju Janata Dal (BJD) clarified that it was not part of the INDIA bloc, despite its Rajya Sabha MPs joining the Opposition alliance’s protest march against the alleged arbitrary actions of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in connection with the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The clarification came after BJD MPs were seen alongside Congress leaders, actively participating in the protest over alleged irregularities in the electoral roll revision exercise, in New Delhi. Two arrested; 13 Navy personnel among 18 under scanner for alleged leaks to Pakistan intelligence operativesThe Counter Intelligence Cell (CIC) of the Andhra Pradesh Intelligence Department has uncovered an espionage module in which 18 people including 13 Navy personnel are suspected of passing sensitive information to Pakistani intelligence operatives. Two of them have been arrested. The suspects were allegedly sharing information related to defence establishments and strategic locations at the Visakhapatnam Naval Base and other parts of the country with Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs), the intelligence officials said in a release.Deleted in SIR, four Bengal men now locked at Chhattisgarh detention centre for over a monthAfter their names were deleted from the voters list during the recent special intensive revision (SIR) exercise, four migrant workers from West Bengal’s Murshidabad now find themselves in an uncanny situation. It’s been a month; they have been detained by Chhattisgarh Police and lodged at a detention centre in Raipur on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals despite being a long-time resident of India over generations.Cabinet clears apex body to handle roads, rail, ports as one networkThe Union Cabinet approved a Special Purpose Vehicle — the Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA) — which will be the apex body to plan, appraise and monitor transport and logistics projects that are now handled separately by different ministries and agencies. Its central task will be a National Transport Master Plan with a horizon of 10 years or more, covering every major mode.Centre to propose five-pronged reform plan at GST Council meeting on October 8The Centre will propose a five-pronged plan for the next set of reforms to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system at the upcoming GST Council meeting on October 8, according to sources in the Ministry of Finance. These reforms are aimed at automating and easing a lot of the current administrative bottlenecks in the GST system, and reducing the compliance burden, especially for small businesses. Rates, including the GST on the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions, will not be on the agenda.Rajnath Singh launches Navy’s first indigenous fleet support ship ‘Surya’ at VisakhapatnamUnion Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the Indian Navy’s first indigenously built Fleet Support Ship FSS-1 named Surya and laid the keel for the fifth vessel of the series FSS-5 at Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) in Visakhapatnam. The five Fleet Support Ships are being built under a single contract with 82% indigenous content. HSL has used integrated modular construction to cut build times while meeting naval specifications.One more FIR over alleged fake Form-7 applications to delete 136 voters at Malleswaram in BengaluruThe Yeshwantpur police have registered an FIR against a BJP-linked Booth Level Agent (BLA-2) for allegedly submitting false Form-7 applications seeking deletion of 136 voters from the electoral rolls in Malleswaram Assembly constituency in Bengaluru. The FIR was registered on October 5 based on a complaint by a Congress leader.World Bank ups India’s GDP growth projection to 7.1% for FY27The World Bank raised India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7.1%, up 0.5 percentage points from its April projections, driven by better-than-expected print for the first quarter.Obituary | Jeffrey Archer: politician, novelist, conman, jailbird and survival specialistWith a combination of charisma and chutzpah, Jeffrey Archer survived everything life threw at him and was loved by hordes of readers, especially in IndiaIsrael puts military on alert for October 7 anniversary, warns GazansIsrael’s Defence Minister said he had put the military on high alert before the anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, warning Gazans would pay a “heavy price” if forces were harmed. The office of Defence Minister Israel Katz said the instruction came “in light of intelligence regarding Hamas’s intentions to attempt to carry out attacks and terror operations against our forces in Gaza on that day”.Paramount and Warner Bros merge to become one Hollywood giant, Skydance It’s official: Skydance-owned Paramount has closed its USD 81 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. The companies completed the deal, ushering in a new Hollywood giant with the now shorter “Skydance” name tag. The merger brings two of America’s oldest moviemaking studios together. And HBO Max, titles ranging from “Harry Potter” to “Sinners,” and even networks like CNN find themselves under the same roof as Paramount+, CBS and the likes of “Top Gun” and “The Godfather”.Students, teachers march in France on biggest day of school protestsStudents, teachers and parents marched in cites across France and protesters blockaded hundreds of schools, in the ‌biggest day of action in a wave of demonstrations demanding the government tackle understaffed and ​dilapidated classrooms.Smriti Mandhana appointed Indian women’s cricket team captainSenior opener Smriti Mandhana was appointed captain of the Indian women’s cricket team after Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down from the role. Harmanpreet announced her decision to step down as India captain in a social media post, following a review meeting with the BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, women’s team head coach Amol Muzumdar, and Mandhana in Guwahati.India, six other countries express interest to host 2036 Olympics; to present Games projects in Nov.: IOCThe International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that India, Germany, Qatar and Turkiye are among seven countries with a stated interest in hosting the 2036 Olympic Games and have been invited to present their projects to the Future Host Commission in November.