Indian political parties marked the 83rd anniversary of the Quit India Movement on 9 August with contrasting street demonstrations and sharp exchanges over opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that the Election Commission presided over large-scale voter-list manipulation during this year’s national polls. Congress leaders led a march from August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai, invoking Mahatma Gandhi’s call for mass mobilisation and warning against what they described as an emerging “dictatorship”. Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said the rally was a pledge to “carry forward the resolution” of 1942, while Gandhi’s great-grandson Tushar Gandhi told supporters the day’s relevance had grown as citizens’ rights were “being snatched”. The Bharatiya Janata Party dismissed Gandhi’s claims as “baseless” and “immature”. Union minister Pralhad Joshi, BJP MP Jagadish Shettar and party spokesperson CR Kesavan separately challenged him to submit documented evidence to the Election Commission. Karnataka minister H.K. Patil, however, alleged that more than 100,000 votes had been stolen and urged the Commission to act. Nationalist Congress Party–Sharad Pawar chief Sharad Pawar said Home Minister Amit Shah, not the Commission, should formally address the accusations, signalling the dispute is likely to intensify when Parliament reconvenes.