NEW DELHI, Oct. 7
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were detained on Tuesday after an opposition march towards the Election Commission headquarters in New Delhi was stopped by police, turning into a prolonged protest near the Akashvani Bhavan complex.
Around 200 MPs from parties associated with the INDIA bloc had assembled at Parliament’s Makar Dwar before beginning the march. The protest was directed at the Election Commission, with opposition parties raising allegations over electoral rolls and voter deletions ahead of coming elections.
Samajwadi Party MPs were prominent in the procession, wearing the party’s red caps and scarves and carrying placards critical of the Election Commission. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav travelled from Lucknow to participate.
Jaya Bachchan was among the SP MPs at the protest. She alleged that votes belonging to the PDA — the Samajwadi Party’s formulation referring to “Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak” communities — were being deleted with an eye on forthcoming elections. The Election Commission has disputed opposition allegations concerning manipulation of electoral rolls.
The procession was stopped shortly after it passed Transport Bhawan and reached the area around the PTI and Reserve Bank of India buildings, where police and security personnel had been deployed.
Akhilesh Yadav sat on the road after the march was halted, with other opposition MPs gathering around him. Rahul Gandhi later climbed onto a barricade and waved the national flag.
Police arranged buses to take detained MPs to Sansad Marg police station. Several opposition leaders, including Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress MPs Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, and RJD MP Manoj Jha, boarded the buses.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also initially boarded one of the buses.
Rahul Gandhi, however, moved towards Akashvani Bhavan instead of boarding a bus. Police stopped him from entering the government complex.
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal subsequently reached the spot, while Priyanka Gandhi stepped off the bus and joined them. Following an argument over why the MPs were being prevented from entering a government building, they were allowed inside the complex.
Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi then began a sit-in at Akashvani Bhavan at around 2 pm.
By evening, the number of MPs remaining at the protest had fallen considerably. Apart from Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, those still present included Venugopal, former Punjab chief minister and Lok Sabha MP Charanjit Singh Channi, and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pawan Khera.
The Gandhis were subsequently detained as the protest continued.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge instructed party MPs to remain in Delhi, signalling that the party planned to continue its campaign over electoral-roll issues.
One notable development was the participation of the Biju Janata Dal in the protest alongside the INDIA bloc. BJD MPs Manas Mangaraj and Sulata Deo participated along with former MP Mujibullah Khan. The BJD is not formally part of the INDIA alliance and has generally maintained an independent position in national politics.
The opposition is now preparing to carry the campaign beyond Tuesday’s march.
The INDIA bloc has booked Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan for a larger rally on November 1. Opposition parties have also sought a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu, with October 7, 8 and 9 proposed as possible dates.
The delegation proposed for the meeting includes Leaders of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, along with Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Sharad Pawar, Omar Abdullah, Tejashwi Yadav, M A Baby and D Raja.
The protest forms part of a broader confrontation between opposition parties and the Election Commission over electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision process.
Opposition parties have alleged that legitimate voters could be removed from electoral rolls through the revision process. The Election Commission has rejected allegations that the exercise is intended to selectively disenfranchise voters, maintaining that electoral-roll revisions are aimed at ensuring accurate voter lists.
Tuesday’s march brought that political dispute onto the streets of the national capital, with the opposition now planning further demonstrations and seeking to take its concerns directly to the President.
