Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
Here are the latest developments we are following from India on Wednesday, September 30:
- India opposition bloc meets, demands roll back of voter list revision
- Security stepped up near Ujjain mosque after clashes
- What is Delhi’s latest action plan to tackle winter smog?
Skip next section Security tightened in Ujjain after mosque demolition clashes09/30/2026September 30, 2026
Security tightened in Ujjain after mosque demolition clashes
Security was tightened Wednesday around the Shahi Masjid in Ujjain, in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, after clashes over the demolition of part of the historic mosque for road-widening work ahead of a 2028 Hindu pilgrimage.
On Monday, tensions flared in the central Indian city as a large crowd gathered to oppose the proposed partial demolition and allegedly threw stones. Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.
According to Indian media reports, 15 people have been detained so far over the violence.
Authorities said the situation was peaceful Wednesday, with more than 2,500 police personnel deployed across Ujjain.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court had earlier disposed of a petition over the dispute after representatives of the mosque and civic authorities agreed on a compromise.
On Tuesday, news agency ANI cited Ujjain District Collector Roshan Kumar Singh as saying the mosque committee was itself removing the portion affected by the road-widening project.
The road-widening is taking place ahead of a Hindu fair called Simhastha, which is slated to be held in 2028 and is expected to attract millions of devotees.
https://p.dw.com/p/5NVZXSkip next section Eiffel Tower chief to quit over exclusion of female staff during Hindu group visit09/30/2026September 30, 2026
Eiffel Tower chief to quit over exclusion of female staff during Hindu group visit
The head of the company that operates the Eiffel Tower is set to step down at the end of the year after female staff were excluded during a visit by a Hindu religious group in September.
Patrick Branco Ruivo, director general of the Societe d’Exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SETE), will leave the position he has held since late 2018.
The company said an independent investigation into the September 5 visit had uncovered a series of operational failures that resulted in female employees being excluded.
It described the situation as “unacceptable.”
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Management had instructed female employees not to come into contact with a delegation from Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a Hindu religious organization which has its headquarters in Ahmedabad in the Indian state of Gujarat.
BAPS denied asking for female employees to be removed or hidden during the visit.
The incident led Eiffel Tower employees to strike on September 7, forcing the landmark to close for a day.
Read full report here.
https://p.dw.com/p/5NVgkSkip next section India opposition leaders push back against voter roll review09/30/2026September 30, 2026
India opposition leaders push back against voter roll review
A meeting of the INDIA bloc, the Congress-led alliance of opposition parties, is underway at the Constitution Club in New Delhi on Wednesday, where opposition leaders are expected to discuss the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists and the furor surrounding India’s Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, that has gripped the nation in recent days.
Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of India’s main opposition Congress party, called for the roll back of the SIR, a hotly debated exercise to verify hundreds of millions of Indian voters, that began last year.
Kharge said that the “ballot belongs to the people” and the principle of “one, person, one vote, one value” in Indian democracy was under a “serious threat.”
“It is shocking that as many as 13.3 Crore (133 million) voters have blatantly been removed from voter list. Their power to take part in a DEMOCRACY has been snatched. It is ordinary voters who should be deciding who comes to power rather than those who are in power,” he said.
Why India’s poll body chief is under scrutiny
Wednesday’s meeting comes after an investigative report by the Indian Express published last week said that there were differences within the Election Commission of India over decisions related to the SIR.
The report stirred a political storm, with protests calling for the resignation of the poll body’s chief, Gyanesh Kumar, for allegedly undermining the ECI’s credibility.
According to the Indian Express, Kumar’s fellow election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, raised at least 14 formal objections over 10 months regarding voter registrations, deletions and restorations, as well as control of electoral-roll data, but those concerns were not taken into consideration.
The report said that in one objection, one of the commissioners complained that the ECI acted against the written advice of two commissioners and claimed its action was “unauthorized and illegal.”
The ECI has deemed all its decisions lawful, saying that differing views were a routine “part of decision-making.”
The three-member commission, comprising Kumar, Sandhu and Joshi, oversees the SIR, which the poll body says removes deceased, relocated and duplicate voters and also prevents the inclusion of “foreign illegal immigrants.”
However, opposition parties and critics allege that the exercise has gone beyond that remit and removed millions of eligible voters to the benefit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Congress demands CEC Kumar’s resignation
On Wednesday, Kharge also called for the removal or resignation of Kumar, saying that there could be no credible election without an “independent and impartial” election body.
He said that the ECI head’s “very integrity” and “intentions” were under question.
Last week, Congress carried out demonstrations across the country demanding Kumar’s resignation.
Pressure group Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which claims millions of supporters, said that it would launch nationwide protests on October 2 if Kumar does not step down.
https://p.dw.com/p/5NUvPSkip next section Welcome to our coverage09/30/2026September 30, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Dharvi Vaid Dhulia | Elizabeth Schumacher Editor
This is Dharvi Vaid Dhulia from DW’s studio in New Delhi, back with the Wednesday roundup of the biggest headlines capturing India’s attention.
Residents of the Indian capital, who have been waking up to cooler mornings, are discussing whether winter will arrive early. But apart from the nip in the air, there is also growing concern about the winter smog that chokes Delhi in the waning months of the year. The city, however, is trying to stay ahead of the smog with a winter action plan that includes construction curbs, vehicle restrictions and work-from-home arrangements.
In political news, opposition leaders from the INDIA bloc are meeting in New Delhi for a key meeting where they will discuss a joint response to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) row surrounding the country’s poll body and calls for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
In sports news, Indian archers have struck gold twice. India’s compound mixed team and women’s team have both won gold medals.
We will cover these and other stories in this blog.
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