Rahul Gandhi Detained After Nine-Hour Sit-In as INDIA Bloc's Election Commission Showdown Escalates
New Delhi, Oct 6 (UNI) Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was detained by Delhi Police late Tuesday after nearly nine hours of a dramatic sit-in at Akashvani Bhavan in central Delhi, bringing the INDIA bloc's day-long confrontation with the Election Commission of India and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to a tense climax.
Rahul, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several other Opposition leaders were taken into custody after police moved into the premises to clear the protesters, who had refused to leave unless they were allowed to proceed to the Election Commission headquarters or provided an authorised alternative venue for their demonstration. The detention marked a dramatic escalation in the Opposition's "Save Democracy" campaign against the Election Commission and its conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The confrontation began in the morning when hundreds of INDIA bloc MPs marched from Parliament towards Nirvachan Sadan, seeking a meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commissioners and demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar. The march was stopped by Delhi Police near the NITI Aayog and Akashvani Bhavan areas, where extensive barricades and a heavy deployment of police and paramilitary personnel had been positioned to prevent the protesters from reaching the Election Commission headquarters.
Several Opposition leaders were detained after the march was halted, including Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress leaders Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O'Brien. What appeared to be the end of the march, however, turned into a prolonged political standoff when Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra entered the Akashvani Bhavan premises after initially being stopped and after several other Opposition MPs had been taken away in buses. Rahul had earlier climbed a police barricade while holding the national flag as security personnel detained protesters.
The two Congress leaders then began a sit-in near Gate No. 4 of the Akashvani Bhavan complex, joined by senior party leaders including Congress general secretary K C Venugopal, Rajya Sabha MP Pawan Khera, Deepender Singh Hooda and Praniti Shinde. The protest continued for almost nine hours, turning the premises of the public broadcaster into the centre of an extraordinary political confrontation only a short distance from the Election Commission headquarters. Police repeatedly asked the protesters to vacate the premises, particularly after office hours, but the Opposition leaders refused to move.
They insisted that they should either be permitted to march to Nirvachan Sadan or be provided with an authorised venue where they could continue their demonstration. As darkness fell, Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force personnel intensified efforts to clear the area. Youth Congress and NSUI workers who had gathered outside Akashvani Bhavan were also detained as security forces moved to disperse the gathering. Police invoked Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and made repeated announcements asking protesters to clear the area and cooperate with the authorities.
The final police action brought the sit-in to an end, with Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other protesting Opposition leaders detained and the Akashvani Bhavan premises cleared. The action followed hours of speeches, slogans and exchanges between the protesters and security personnel and represented the latest and most dramatic escalation in the Opposition's campaign against the Election Commission over electoral-roll revision.
Earlier, speaking from inside the Akashvani Bhavan premises, Rahul Gandhi said nearly 300 Opposition MPs had sought to meet the Chief Election Commissioner and the other Election Commissioners but had been prevented from reaching the poll panel's headquarters. "We are peaceful. We are MPs of the country. We are representing the voice of the people," Gandhi said, questioning why elected representatives were being prevented from travelling what he described as a short distance to the Election Commission office. He asked why the poll panel was unwilling to meet the MPs and argued that the issue went to the heart of the functioning of democracy. Launching a direct attack on the Election Commission and the Narendra Modi government, he allegd that the electoral process had been compromised and that the Opposition was fighting to protect democratic institutions. "I don't care what the BJP says. I am standing here to protect democracy," he said. He further alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union Home Minister Amit Shah, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar were responsible for what he described as an assault on India's democratic system. "What has been done to the country is treason," Gandhi said, asserting that those responsible would eventually be held accountable.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who took part in the march, also accused the Election Commission of acting in concert with the government. Kharge alleged that Gyanesh Kumar was functioning at the behest of Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah and reiterated the Opposition's charge that the electoral-roll revision exercise was undermining citizens' voting rights. The central grievance of the INDIA bloc is the SIR exercise, which resulted in the deletion of large numbers of eligible voters and demanded and the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar.
The Election Commission has rejected the allegations, maintaining that the SIR is being conducted within the constitutional and statutory framework. The Commission has also maintained that no formal request for a meeting from the political parties had been received. The political dispute has nevertheless intensified in recent weeks, with the Congress and its INDIA bloc allies making electoral-roll integrity a central issue in their broader campaign against the Election Commission.
Tuesday's mobilisation brought together a broad cross-section of INDIA bloc parties. Besides Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, participants included Mallikarjun Kharge, K C Venugopal, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh, Akhilesh Yadav, Abhishek Banerjee, NCP (Sharad Pawar) leader Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut and RJD leader Manoj Jha. The presence of such a large number of MPs gave the protest a distinctly parliamentary character. Police, however, maintained that the protesters could not proceed beyond the barricaded area and deployed substantial forces to prevent the march from reaching Nirvachan Sadan.
The day produced several dramatic scenes, including Rahul Gandhi climbing a barricade with the national flag and subsequently entering the Akashvani Bhavan complex with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra after other Opposition leaders had been detained. Their decision to remain inside transformed the failed march into a prolonged sit-in, keeping the political confrontation alive only a short distance from the Election Commission headquarters. The detention of the Leader of the Opposition after almost nine hours now places the INDIA bloc's "Save Democracy" campaign at another politically charged juncture.
For the Congress and its allies, the confrontation is about electoral transparency, institutional independence and the protection of voting rights. The Election Commission and the government, on the other hand, have rejected the Opposition's allegations as politically motivated. With Delhi Police finally clearing Akashvani Bhavan and taking the protesting leaders into custody, the dispute over SIR and the Opposition's demand for Gyanesh Kumar's resignation has moved into another direct street confrontation between the INDIA bloc and the country's election machinery. The detention of Rahul Gandhi after a day-long protest is likely to further sharpen the political battle over electoral rolls, the independence of the Election Commission and the wider question of institutional accountability.
UNI SKA MCR
