The Opposition INDIA bloc is likely to meet in New Delhi on September 30 to discuss its strategy on issues concerning the Election Commission, including a proposed removal motion against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Opposition parties are expected to begin collecting signatures for the move.Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, speaking at a public meeting in Serampore in Hooghly district, said she had reached out to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, stressing the need for Opposition parties to unite amid protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and mounting criticism of the CEC.The proposed meeting comes days after media reports claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections at least 14 times over a 10-month period to decisions and orders they said were taken without their knowledge.Notably, a day before the proposed INDIA bloc meeting, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) is scheduled to meet in New Delhi on September 29 to discuss the controversy.Even as the Election Commission of India (ECI) issued a clarification, the Congress claimed that the poll body was in a “damage-control mode” and said it had already caused “massive damage” to Indian democracy. In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the ECI’s latest clarification failed to answer several questions raised by recent reports on the SIR of electoral rolls.Referring to Goa, Ramesh questioned the commission’s claim that 81 of the 97 voters whose names did not figure in the final electoral roll had subsequently submitted Form 6 applications for inclusion. He said the ECI’s September 26 press note did not directly refute the findings reported by the media.He said the development raised questions about how eligible voters could have been excluded from the rolls in the first place. Ramesh also rejected the ECI’s reliance on a Supreme Court order of May 27, 2026, relating to the SIR exercise. The Congress further questioned the decision to extend voter-registration deadlines in Delhi and Maharashtra, asking what safeguards would be available to voters in Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar, West Bengal and other states.The party also renewed its criticism of changes to the online voter-registration process, particularly the additional declaration linked to previous SIR rolls.Meanwhile, Banerjee accused the ECI of carrying out the SIR exercise in a manner designed to help the BJP secure an electoral advantage in West Bengal by deleting the names of eligible voters. She further alleged that the BJP’s influence over the poll body had now been exposed.Earlier in the day, Banerjee claimed that Trinamool Congress workers were being prevented from attending the Serampore programme and accused BJP workers of attacking TMC supporters and vandalising vehicles.Speaking to reporters at her Kalighat residence in Kolkata, Banerjee alleged that people were being stopped from travelling along the GT Road-Uttarpara stretch and claimed that the police were not taking adequate action.The confrontation escalated after TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh alleged that his vehicle was attacked while he was travelling to Serampore for Banerjee’s programme. Ghosh claimed that eggs, stones and rods were hurled at the vehicle, shattering its windows.Responding to the political clash, West Bengal BJP leader Agnimitra Paul said holding rallies and protests was a democratic right, but criticised the TMC’s performance in government.She alleged that the people of West Bengal had given Banerjee and the TMC 15 years to govern, but the government had failed to fulfil its responsibilities. Accusing the ruling party of corruption, Paul said the people of the state would ultimately decide its political future through the democratic process.