Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi, Other INDI Bloc Leaders Detained During Protest Against CEC At Akashvani Bhawan

New Delhi: Several INDIA bloc leaders were detained by Delhi Police on Tuesday after Opposition MPs marching towards the Election Commission headquarters were stopped near Akashvani Bhawan and the NITI Aayog office in New Delhi. The protestors were demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over their allegations concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The INDIA bloc MPs had gathered at Makar Dwar in the Parliament complex before beginning their march towards Nirvachan Sadan, the Election Commission headquarters. Heavy security and barricades had been deployed along the route ahead of the protest.

The march was stopped by security personnel on Parliament Street, in front of Akashvani Bhawan and near the NITI Aayog office. After being prevented from proceeding further, the Opposition MPs sat on the road and staged a dharna, demanding that Gyanesh Kumar step down as CEC.

Among those detained were Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress MPs Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O'Brien, along with several other Opposition leaders. CPI(M) MP John Brittas was also among those who took part in the march.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also taken to a waiting police bus after being detained. She later got off the bus and joined her brother, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, near the Akashvani Bhawan gate. The two subsequently entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises and continued the protest.

The protest took a dramatic turn after Rahul Gandhi climbed a police barricade and waved the national flag. He later entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises along with Priyanka Gandhi and Congress MP Deepender Hooda. The Gandhi siblings were seen sitting under a tree inside the premises as police personnel asked them to vacate the area.

Other Opposition leaders who had initially been detained were subsequently brought back to the protest site after being released. The sit-in continued as the INDIA bloc maintained its demand for access to the Election Commission office.

During the protest, Opposition MPs carried cutouts depicting Gyanesh Kumar in an RSS uniform and raised slogans including "BJP hai CEC hai", "Vote chor, gaddi chhod" and "Democracy not for sale". Rahul Gandhi also posted on X, "Gyanesh it's done bro. Time to resign."

The Opposition has been demanding Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise and has raised questions over changes to Form 6, the application used for voter enrolment. The protest followed the Supreme Court's observations that it had not approved any modified version of Form 6 and would examine the Election Commission's records on the issue.

Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Opposition was being prevented from meeting the Election Commission despite representing voters across the country. He questioned why the poll panel was not meeting the Opposition MPs who had marched to its office.

The Election Commission, however, said on Tuesday that it had not received any request from any political party seeking a meeting with its officials. EC officials said no such request had been received even as Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders continued their protest near the poll panel's office.

The Opposition's protest is part of its wider campaign against the Election Commission over the SIR exercise and its allegations of "vote chori". The Election Commission has maintained that decisions relating to the SIR were taken unanimously and has rejected suggestions of differences within its three-member panel.

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