Retail inflation rises to 5.54% in September Retail inflation rose sharply to 5.54 per cent in September on the back of high onion and other food prices, remaining just within the RBI’s tolerance band, government data released on Monday showed. The Consumer Price Index-based headline inflation was 4.83 per cent in August. Food inflation rose to 7.74 per cent in September from 5.97 per cent in August | P14 BHUBANESWAR l tuesday l october 13, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Massive march for democracy Rahul says only one protest, assures Oppn support to all committed to protecting Constitution LoP Rahul Gandhi’s writ petition in the SC challenges the legality of the SIR, alleging large-scale deletion of genuine voters. It seeks a direction to ECI to place on record the full file recording decision to commence SIR | P9 Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and AISA chief Neha Bora with others during the Opposition INDIA bloc’s march to the Supreme Court in New Delhi on Monday | PTI U d aya n K i s h o r e & Anu p Ve r m a @ New Delhi OPPOSITION leaders, party workers and members of the public took to the streets of central Delhi in a massive show of strength on Monday as the INDIA bloc intensified its campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging electoral irregularities and demanding an end to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The ‘Chalo Delhi—March for Democracy,’ was later followed by the filing of a joint petition in the Supreme Court seeking judicial intervention over the allegations. The INDIA bloc has demanded Kumar’s resignation, suspension of SIR, a return to ballot papers and poll reforms. Led by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the march began near the Connaught Place–Barakhamba Road junction. Opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule and CPI general secretary D Raja, joined the mobilisation alongside activists Yogendra Yadav and Nandita Narayan and AISA chief Neha Bora. Police stopped the march at Bhagwan Dass Road about 1 km away , with security tightened across central Delhi. The petition, filed later in the day, lists several Opposition leaders as petitioners and challenges alleged irregularities in the SIR process. The SC registry subsequently flagged at least 10 defects in the plea. Addressing reporters ahead CJI Surya Kant said SC had neither approved nor disapproved the revised Form 6. The SC said ECI cannot claim judicial endorsement | P9 of the march, Rahul said the Opposition’s campaign was a collective effort to defend democratic institutions. “There are no parallel protests, there is one protest,” he said, adding that anyone committed to protecting the Constitution would have the Opposition’s support. Addressing Kumar, he said, “Resign, turn approver; you have made a mistake but you are not the mind behind the mistake.” He said the campaign would continue until the Election Commission’s leadership changed, the Constitution was upheld and the electoral system was overhauled. On X, Rahul said the INDIA bloc had written to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who told them to approach the court through a petition. He stressed that the agitation would continue beyond Monday’s march. Jantar Mantar denotified as designated protest venue E x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi The Delhi Police on Monday denotified Jantar Mantar as a protest venue and named Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground, about 4, 21 and 13 kilometres away from Parliament, respectively, as the new designated sites for holding protests and demonstrations in the national capital. According to the order, the Union home ministry had constituted a committee to examine alternative venues for citizens’ right for organising protest and demonstrations in place of the existing “designated site”. “Based on the committee’s recommendations, Jantar Mantar as a protest venue has been de-notified. Three new venues viz Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and CBD Ground, East Delhi have been designated as new venues for organising protest/demonstrations,” the order stated. Criticising the decision, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said, “It is a definite sign of the extreme panic that has gripped the PM-HM duo.” Cockroach Janta Party’s Saurav Das called the decision an “assault” on the fundamental right to protest. On bail for hit-and-run, realtor’s son at it again, tries to mow down four E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Barely days after walking out of jail in a fatal hit-andrun case, a 20-year-old law student, under the influence of alcohol, attempted to mow down four people with his speeding electric car in Bhubaneswar during early hours of Monday . Soumya Ranjan Rath, a fourth-year law student and son of a real estate dealer, allegedly drove recklessly near Darling Dhaba on Puri Bypass Road under Badagada police limits around 7.30 am, injuring at least four persons in two separate attempts to run people over. His driving licence was suspended for six months following a fatal accident in July he was involved in. Yet, Rath allegedly continued driving. Police said Rath and some friends arrived in two cars late on Sunday night and consumed alcohol by the roadside. An argument reportedly broke out between Rath and one of his friends during early hours of the next day when eatery owner Tapan Das and his staff intervened to pacify them. However, an agitated Rath allegedly got into his EV and drove towards Das, his staff and some passers-by in which two persons sustained injuries. A couple, Ratikanta and Anapurna, who was passing through the area on a motor- The scene of the incident (top), Soumya Ranjan Rath | Express cycle, stopped to help the injured, police added. Rath allegedly returned at a high speed, driving on the wrong side of the road and again attempted to run over Das and his staff. This time, the couple sustained injuries. He reportedly tried to turn back towards the eatery but his car broke down, allowing locals to overpower him and hand him over to the police. At least three parked motorcycles were also damaged this time. M e d i c a l e x a m i n at i o n found Rath to be intoxicated, police said. Investigators are treating the incident as an alleged deliberate attempt to kill. CCTV footage reportedly showed him repeatedly attempting to drive into people, while a video of the incident went viral on Monday . CONTINUED ON P5 Braj Mohan Ram is the new Guv of Odisha E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar President Droupadi Murmu on Monday appointed senior BJP leader and three-time Lok Sabha member from Jharkhand, Braj Mohan Ram, as the new Governor of Odisha. He will be succeeding Hari Babu Kambhampati. The appointment will take effect from the date Ram assumes charge, according to a communique issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan. Born on January 1, 1958, in Chandwa in Palamu district (now Latehar district), Ram completed his graduation from Ranchi University. An agriculturist by profession, he entered electoral politics in 1991 after being elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly on a BJP ticket. He served as an MLA until 1995. He was subsequently elected to the Lok Sabha Braj Mohan from the Palamu Ram p a rl i a m e n t a r y constituency in 1996, 1998 and 1999. Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar as a separate state in November 2000. His appointment makes him the second BJP leader from Jharkhand to serve as Odisha Governor after former Chief Minister Raghubar Das. Ram will be the 44th Governor of Odisha since Independence. Kambhampati assumed office on January 3, 2025, succeeding D a s. H e v i s i t e d P u r i o n Monday.