Delhi Police on Wednesday detained Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as they, along with other INDIA bloc MPs, headed towards Jantar Mantar to protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Women police personnel removed Priyanka from the protest site, while Rahul was taken into custody after buses carrying the Opposition MPs were halted near the designated demonstration venue.
The latest development came a day after Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and several Opposition leaders were detained following an hours-long sit-in at Akashvani Bhavan. On Wednesday, buses carrying MPs were stopped before they could reach Jantar Mantar. Some Congress MPs climbed on top of the buses and raised slogans, and Priyanka sat on the road before police personnel removed her from the spot. Rahul was also taken into a police bus.
Rahul Gandhi says every FIR is a ‘medal’
Before setting out for Jantar Mantar, Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the FIR registered over Tuesday’s Akashvani Bhavan protest.
“I have 45 FIRs against me. My goal is to have 100. I want 100 FIRs to be filed against me. Every FIR is a medal for me,” he said.
Delhi Police registered an FIR against Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and others after a complaint alleging that they entered the Akashvani Bhavan premises without permission during Tuesday’s protest. Police said a further investigation was underway.
Rahul Gandhi said around 300 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs had sought to meet the Election Commissioners on Tuesday and were prevented from doing so.
“So, our plan today is to go to the designated protest site, Jantar Mantar, and sit there again and tell the country that, for us, Gyanesh Kumar is not the legitimate Election Commissioner of the country,” he said.
He repeated his demand for CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and the CEC of damaging the electoral system. Those allegations have been rejected by the Election Commission and the BJP.
Protests over CEC Gyanesh Kumar
On Tuesday, protest began with Opposition MPs trying to march from Parliament towards the Election Commission headquarters. Delhi Police said no prior permission had been sought for that march and Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita was in force in New Delhi. Police detained around 260 protesters during the day, according to police accounts.
Rahul, Priyanka and other Congress leaders later entered the Akashvani Bhavan compound and held a sit-in that continued for nearly nine hours. Police removed them in the evening. They were released later that night. Wednesday’s detention marked another police intervention during the continuing protests.
What Election Commission has said
The protests follow an Indian Express investigation that reported Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to steps involving electoral rolls and related procedures. The Election Commission acknowledged the notes and described differing views as part of its internal decision-making process. It said the Commission’s final decisions had been unanimous.
The Commission has also said it is willing to meet political parties if requests are made through the prescribed procedure. It has said no political party had formally sought such a meeting through that process at the time of its latest response.
The Supreme Court has separately issued notices on petitions concerning alleged unilateral decisions within the Election Commission. The court has not ordered Kumar’s suspension or removal.
