Congress Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were detained by Delhi Police on Tuesday evening after several hours of protest at Akashvani Bhawan against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Delhi Police was seen dragging Rahul Gandhi towards a police van as authorities moved to clear the protest site. Several other Opposition leaders and MPs were also detained and taken away in buses.
The protesters had been stopped earlier while marching towards the Election Commission office to demand a meeting with Gyanesh Kumar and seek his resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Police Ask Protesters to Vacate
Police had announced that the sit in at Akashvani Bhawan would not be allowed to continue overnight and asked the protesters to disperse. They warned that those refusing to leave would be detained.
Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, KC Venugopal, Pawan Khera and several other Congress leaders remained at the site despite the announcement.
Congress had earlier claimed that Delhi Police was preparing to detain Rahul Gandhi and other MPs from the premises.
Priyanka Gandhi said the Opposition wanted to meet the CEC but had “no hope from the government”.
“We want to meet the CEC. We have no hope from the government,” she told CNN News18.
She also accused the government of being “incompetent” and said Gyanesh Kumar “will not be spared”.
Opposition Leaders Stopped on Way to ECI
The protest began after Opposition MPs attempted to march from Parliament towards the Election Commission headquarters. They were stopped by security personnel on Parliament Street near Akashvani Bhawan and the NITI Aayog office.
After being stopped, several leaders sat on the road and began a sit in. Rahul Gandhi and Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee were later seen climbing a police barricade.
Priyanka Gandhi was initially taken towards a waiting police bus but later returned and joined Rahul Gandhi and other protesters at Akashvani Bhawan.
Several INDIA bloc leaders, including Akhilesh Yadav, Derek O’Brien, Abhishek Banerjee, Kalyan Banerjee, Imran Masood, P Santosh and A Rahim, were also detained.
The Opposition has been demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise and other decisions of the Election Commission.
Rahul Gandhi Says Opposition Fighting to Save Democracy
Speaking to reporters from inside Akashvani Bhawan, Rahul Gandhi said the Opposition was protesting to “save democracy”.
“We are not only countering them. I have no interest in what the BJP is saying. I’m standing here to save democracy. Other MPs are also trying the same,” Gandhi said.
He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Gyanesh Kumar had “finished democracy” in the country.
Gandhi also alleged that elections had been “hijacked” through what he described as “vote chori”.
The BJP has rejected the Opposition’s allegations. Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called the protest another attempt to “relaunch Rahul Gandhi” and accused the Congress of trying to “spread anarchy”.
The Opposition’s protests over SIR have been continuing since October 2, with political parties and civil society groups raising concerns over the revision of electoral rolls and demanding greater accountability from the Election Commission.
