Youth Congress suspends 215 office-bearers across eight states for missing INDIA bloc rally
New Delhi: The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) has suspended 215 office-bearers across eight states after they failed to attend the Congress-led INDIA bloc’s November 1 rally in Delhi against alleged irregularities in electoral roll revisions.
The organisation issued the suspension orders on November 3. They will remain in force until further notice. The IYC leadership termed the absences organisational indiscipline, as it had instructed office-bearers to participate in the event. The rally formed part of the Opposition’s protests against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the alleged irregularities.
Attendance tracked digitally
People aware of the matter said the IYC used a mobile application to monitor attendance. A Congress leader said the app carried information about locations, timings and other arrangements for the rally.
“Office-bearers who did not register and follow the instructions on the application were among those who faced action.”
The organisation also deployed barcode scanners at the gathering point on Delhi’s Minto Road to record attendance. A second Congress leader said the IYC leadership had directed all national, state and district-level office-bearers to join both the march and the rally.
Madhya Pradesh tops list
Madhya Pradesh accounted for 60 suspensions, the highest among the eight states. Gujarat followed with 49, while Jharkhand recorded 32 and West Bengal 26. The IYC suspended 14 office-bearers in Telangana, 13 in Himachal Pradesh, 11 in Uttar Pradesh’s Central unit and 10 in Haryana.
An order shared by the Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress on X cited organisational indiscipline for absence from the “Vote Chori Rally”. It said the action followed directions from the national leadership.
In Gujarat, the suspended leaders included district presidents from Ahmedabad, Amreli, Anand, Aravalli, Banaskantha, Gandhinagar, Junagadh, Mehsana, Patan and Panchmahal.
Rahul attacks government
The INDIA bloc’s march passed through central Delhi for more than an hour before the rally. Addressing the gathering, Rahul Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah would not escape the law. He described Kumar’s removal as the first step towards bringing the country back on track.
The mobilisation followed weeks of street protests amid Metro closures, an internet shutdown and prohibitory orders. In October, authorities deployed around 40,000 security personnel in Delhi. The dragging, manhandling and detention of protesters during that period drew controversy.