DMK's U-Turn On Rahul Gandhi's Delhi Protest March Against Gyanesh Kumar

Rahul Gandhi found himself at the centre of an attack by the MK Stalin-led DMK, a former ally, on Tuesday. A day later, on Wednesday, the censure had turned to support.

As U-turns go, it was dizzying.

"How can elections be fair if Gyanesh Kumar, holding a high post, is anti-democratic? He should definitely be removed. It is the right of the citizens to fight against the government's wrongdoings, and that is what Rahul Gandhi did yesterday. This government doesn't want Rahul Gandhi to protest against Gyanesh Kumar," DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan said today, a day after the party criticised Rahul Gandhi, questioning his "silence" over the alleged voter deletions in Tamil Nadu.

Yesterday, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, headlined the Opposition INDIA bloc's protest and led a march from parliament to Election Commission's office to demand the scrapping of special intensive revision of electoral rolls, and sacking of the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

In a strongly worded post on X on Tuesday, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai questioned Gandhi's stance on the deletions made through the SIR process in Tamil Nadu.

READ | What About SIR In Tamil Nadu: DMK's Jibe At Rahul Gandhi Amid Delhi Protest

Annadurai accused the Congress MP of "adopting inconsistent positions" regarding the electoral roll revision exercise and asked why developments in Tamil Nadu had not received the same attention as the broader campaign against the Election Commission.

The DMK has alleged that millions of voters were removed from Tamil Nadu's electoral rolls during the poll body's SIR exercise.

The regional party did not even attend last week's India bloc meeting meant to develop a strategy to begin a countrywide protest against Gyanesh Kumar. It had, however, indicated that it supports the cause and stands with the Opposition bloc on this issue. Tuesday's swipe at Rahul Gandhi came despite the assurances.

Gandhi or his party has not responded to the DMK leader's comments.

After the 2026 state assembly polls, the decades-old DMK-Cong alliance collapsed. The Congress severed ties with its longtime ally to support actor Vijay's TVK in forming the government, triggering a bitter fallout between the DMK and Congress.