Morning Digest: Rahul says protests will continue until CEC Gyanesh Kumar resigns; GST Council meets today, and more

Protests will continue until CEC Gyanesh Kumar resigns, says Rahul GandhiThe protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar will not stop until he resigns over alleged vote chori (theft), Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said, after the Delhi Police detained him and other Opposition leaders for the second day in a row while on their way to Jantar Mantar for a dharna. Mr. Gandhi, who has stressed a “politics of resistance”, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Opposition leaders staged an impromptu dharna at a roundabout barely a couple of hundred metres from Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site in central Delhi.‘Coordination with CJP on agenda basis, but alliances are always on radar’: Neha BoraIn the run-up to a collective protest on October 10 seeking the scrapping of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls and the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) have been coordinating despite differences in their ideologies and approaches. In an interview with The Hindu, AISA national president Neha Bora speaks about the ties between the two organisations, their differences and the scope for a broader alliance.Two children among three killed as four-storey building collapses in Delhi’s SeemapuriAt least three people, including two children, were killed after a four-storey building collapsed in North East Delhi’s New Seemapuri. Eleven people have been pulled out from the debris so far even as operations are on to rescue a few people trapped in the rubble, said police. The victims included a woman who was four months’ pregnant; police identified her as Gulafsa. The two children, one of whom was 12 years old, are yet to be identified.Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, several others booked over forcible entry into Akashvani Bhavan during INDIA bloc protestDelhi Police have registered an FIR against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several others over alleged forcible entry into the Akashvani Bhavan premises during an INDIA bloc protest. The case comes a day after Delhi Police detained around 260 people, including 10 MPs, following the INDIA bloc’s march from Parliament towards the Election Commission of India office. Police said the protesters breached barricades and continued despite repeated directions to disperse.Elon Musk alleges ‘oligarch’ interference in Starlink’s India launchYears into SpaceX’s efforts to get permissions to operate its satellite broadband service in India, the firm’s founder and CEO Elon Musk has accused “certain oligarchs” in India of stimying the service’s launch in India. Mr. Musk made the accusation on X, formerly Twitter, hours after one of his firm’s executives said she hoped that the service would be live in India by 2027.INDIA bloc yet to get President’s appointment on ECI concernsThe INDIA bloc’s request for an appointment with President Droupadi Murmu to apprise her of its concerns over the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI) has so far drawn a blank. Opposition leaders had suggested that only a select delegation would meet the President, keeping in mind the protocol associated with the country’s highest constitutional office, and had conveyed multiple dates for the meeting. However, according to sources, they are yet to receive any response from the President’s office.RBI raises FY27 inflation projection to 5.2% amid higher crude oil pricesThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) marginally raised inflation projection to 5.2% for FY27 from earlier forecast of 5%, Governor Sanjay Malhotra said. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, while speaking at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, said, “Considering all factors, CPI inflation for this year is projected to be 5.2%, with Q2 at 4.9, Q3 at 6 and Q4 at 5.7 per cent, with the risks being evenly balanced. CPI inflation for the first quarter of the next year was projected at 5.6%.”Must seek Jantar Mantar protest permission 10 days before event: Delhi PoliceWith INDIA bloc leaders marching to Jantar Mantar seeking Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s removal, the Delhi Police reiterated that permission to protest at the site has to be sought 10 days in advance and gatherings not exceeding 1,000 people. The clarification comes amid heightened security in central Delhi, with the INDIA bloc holding a protest demanding the removal of CEC Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) planning a protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10.GST Council meets today, tax experts say reforms must move beyond rates to processes, complianceWith the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system having settled down, revenues remaining steady, and rates having been rationalised, tax experts across the board say the priority for the GST Council in its 57th meeting on October 8 should be on decisively easing the compliance burden for taxpayers. The GST Council will meet in New Delhi on October 8 for the first time after its meeting on September 3-4, 2025, when it had introduced wide-ranging rate and slab changes. SpaceX exec renews Starlink pitch as approvals lay pendingYears into SpaceX’s efforts to get permission to operate its satellite broadband service in India, a senior executive of the firm once again pitched Starlink as a last-mile internet access solution in the country. “We can’t talk about building the future at scale without talking about closing the digital divide, because otherwise we’d just be building a future that leaves a substantial portion of the population behind,” Lauren Dreyer, Vice President of Starlink Business Operations at SpaceX said at the India Mobile Congress (IMC).Modi, High Commissioner to Dhaka discuss bilateral ties amid talks for Bangladesh PM’s delayed India visitAs India and Bangladesh negotiate about Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visit to India, High Commissioner to Dhaka Dinesh Trivedi held a “very good” and “long” meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a source in the PMO. Mr. Trivedi, who took charge at his current post in June, is on a three-day visit to Delhi for consultations. The source did not share any details of his conversation with Mr. Modi. The meeting took place even as the Ministry of External Affairs reiterated that India wants to build a “constructive and forward looking” relationship with Bangladesh.West Bengal CEO says eligible deleted voters can apply through Form 6 to restore name in rollsThe West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) issued a statement saying any eligible voter whose name has been deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls can apply for his/her name to be restored through Form 6. The list of deleted names is available online for people to check. According to the first draft roll published in December 2025, West Bengal had over 58 lakh ASDD votersBombay High Court asks Maharashtra to restore trust of MPSC aspirants, students to return to classesThe Bombay High Court asked the Maharashtra government to take steps to restore the trust of students protesting over the recruitment process managed by the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC), and requested them to return to their studies. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna, hearing a petition about inconvenience caused to citizens in Pune, said the matter was before the court and the State must respond in writing.Israel strikes Gaza on October 7 anniversary, three dead: officialsIsrael carried out new strikes in Gaza as it marked the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks, with Palestinian officials reporting three people dead. Loud bangs across the border in Gaza were audible from the site of the Nova music festival just as family members gathered at dawn to mourn the more than 300 revellers killed three years earlier.MDR a small fee, will not have major impact on UPI volumes: RBI Governor MalhotraReserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra said levying a “small fee” in the form of merchant discount rate (MDR) will not have a “major impact” on UPI transaction volumes. It can be noted that last month, the government allowed charging of the MDR under which transactions above ₹2,000 will attract a fee of 0.4%.Reopening Brexit debate a ‘terrible idea’: Conservative leader BadenochLeader of the U.K. Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch has opposed British Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s stated plan to reopen the question of Brexit (Britain’s departure from the European Union), calling it a “terrible idea”. Last week the Prime Minister had said that Britain would need to consider what its ties with the EU should look like over the long term, suggesting that one option would be to return to the bloc.Kashmir-born filmmaker held in U.S. likely to be freed soon, says familyKashmir-born filmmaker Arfat Sheikh, 42, detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is likely to be set free soon, according to his family. “The family is pursuing the case and cooperating with the authorities. We expect him to be free soon,” said a family member. According to an online advocacy group, Free Arfat Sheikh, the U.S. ICE on September 24, 2026, “unlawfully detained Sheikh when he was coming off a plane at Dulles Airport (IAD)” and detained at the Caroline Detention Centre in Bowling Green, Virginia, for 11 days.Sri Lanka arrests ex-First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa over graft allegationsSri Lanka’s anti-corruption body arrested former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, wife of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, over alleged financial irregularities. She has been remanded until October 13. The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) said it was arresting Ms. Rajapaksa in connection with an investigation into the alleged misuse of funds at her charity Siriliya Saviya Foundation.WHO says no obesity drugs, surgery for under-10sMedicine and surgery are not the answer for overweight children, the World Health Organization said. Releasing its first guidelines addressing the sharp rise in obesity among children and adolescents, the WHO instead strongly recommended structured diets, physical activity and behaviour changes.Messi retires from international football as Argentina defeats Benin in friendly matchLionel Messi retired from international football, scoring a goal and providing two assists as Argentina defeated Benin 3-0 in a friendly international. Messi, playing in his record-extending 208th international, provided the assist for the opening goal scored by veteran Nicolas Otamendi, with Nico Paz also scoring. Messi’s 71st minute penalty was his record-extending 126th international goal.