Morning Digest: INDIA bloc to hold ‘Chalo Dilli’ march against CEC, SIR today; Britain open to apologising for slavery, says U.K. PM; and more

INDIA bloc holds symbolic ‘public impeachment’ of CEC Gyanesh Kumar on six chargesThe Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Saturday (October 31, 2026) carried out a symbolic “public impeachment” of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, unanimously adopting a motion by a show of hands .They levelled six charges against him, including conspiring with the ruling BJP to steal elections, deleting 13.2 crore voters through the special intensive revision (SIR) of voter lists, and acting at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.Britain open to apologising for slavery, says U.K. PM Andy BurnhamU.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said his government is open to the idea of formally apologising for Britain’s historical role in the slave trade, although he ruled out financial reparations. Mr. Burnham set out his position in an opinion piece in The Guardian on Friday (October 30, 2026), ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda, next week. There have, for long, been calls for Britain to apologise and offer reparations for slavery and its colonial past, including in India.At CEC’s ‘public impeachment’, voters question deletion of names from rollsThe Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance’s symbolic “public impeachment” of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday (October 31, 2026) featured accounts from voters who alleged that their names had been deleted from electoral rolls during the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise. Among them was Anita Jaiswal, who moved from Kolkata to Delhi. She said she had voted in every election between 2012 and 2025 but was now being asked to establish her citizenship.Rubio says U.S. not directly involved in Flavio Bolsonaro’s flight from BrazilU.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday (October 31, 2026) that Washington was not directly involved in Flavio Bolsonaro’s arrangements to leave Brazil after his election loss. Mr. Bolsonaro, who lost his bid to be president in Sunday’s (October 25, 2026) run-off vote, arrived with his family in the U.S. on Wednesday (October 28, 2026) after a court ordered his passports be seized amid multiple investigations against him.Centre releases additional instalment of tax devolution of ₹1.09 lakh crore to statesThe Centre on Saturday (October 31, 2026) released an additional instalment of tax devolution to state governments totalling over ₹1.09 lakh crore. This is in addition to the regular monthly devolution and the second additional instalment this financial year. The Union government released tax devolution of ₹1,09,019 crore to state governments, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.‘Make Rahul Gandhi a mock PM’: BJP slams INDIA bloc over mock ParliamentThe Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday (October 31, 2026) accused the Congress and its allies of ridiculing democratic institutions by staging a mock Parliament session, and said that Opposition parties had repeatedly disrupted proceedings in the real Parliament. At a press conference, BJP MP Sambit Patra referred to the structure resembling the old Parliament building erected for the mock Parliament session and said: “They want to retain everything from the old British-era structure... They should seat Rahul Gandhi ji as the mock Prime Minister in that very old structure. We have absolutely no objection.”Rahul Gandhi appeals to Delhi rally goers to do festival shopping from local tradersAmid concerns of traders in central Delhi over the impact of the crowd expected at the INDIA bloc’s ‘Chalo Dilli’ rally on Sunday (November 1, 2026), Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday (October 31, 2026) urged people to do some festival season shopping after attending the rally. In a video released late in the day, Mr. Gandhi appealed to people to shop for upcoming festivals like Deepavali, Chhath, and Bhai Dooj.Mamdani says Trump has agreed to grant visa to mother of Ghanian teen killed in Bronx shootingNew York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has claimed in a social media post that President Donald Trump has agreed to grant a visa to the mother of a 15-year-old immigrant from Ghana who was shot dead earlier this week. The teen, Javits Frimpong, was on his way to school in a Bronx neighbourhood shortly before 9.30 a.m. on Thursday (October 29, 2026) when he was shot in the abdomen, New York City police said.London police arrest 139 people outside U.S. Embassy for supporting banned pro-Palestinian groupLondon police said they arrested 139 people at a protest outside the U.S. Embassy on Saturday (October 31, 2026) in support of the banned group Palestine Action. The majority of those taken into custody had expressed support for a proscribed organisation, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement. It said that more arrests are expected as officers remain at the scene.Quad ministers express ‘grave concerns’ over economic coercionForeign Ministers from the United States, India, Japan and Australia on Saturday (October 31, 2026) jointly raised serious concerns about “economic coercion” like export curbs and practices leading to overproduction, in veiled criticism of China. “The four ministers expressed grave concerns regarding economic coercion, including through arbitrary export restrictions,” said a statement from the Quad alliance in Atlanta, Georgia.SEBI chairman says market regulator keeping eye on Tata Group developmentsSEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Saturday (October 31, 2026) said the market regulator is monitoring developments relating to governance at the holding company level in the Tata Group, and pointed out that the group’s listed companies and their promoters are subject to SEBI’s disclosure and compliance norms.Indian women’s cricket in a healthy state: MuzumdarIndia women’s head coach Amol Muzumdar believes the day is not far when the national team could have a specialist T20I squad, much like the Indian men’s team, with the next generation of cricketers well equipped to meet the demands of the shortest format. Asked how soon that could become a reality, Muzumdar was emphatic: “Not long.”