New Delhi, Oct 6: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi took centre stage during the opposition’s protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Rahul Gandhi, along with hundreds of opposition leaders and MPs, marched from Parliament towards the Election Commission office, demanding a meeting with the Election Commissioners and raising allegations of “vote chori”.
The protest brought Parliament Street to a standstill as police stopped the march near Akashvani Bhawan, around 200 metres from the Election Commission office.
Rahul Gandhi stages protest at AIR premises
After several opposition MPs were detained and taken away in buses, Rahul Gandhi moved towards the reception area of Akashvani Bhawan, the headquarters of All India Radio.
He eventually entered the premises and remained there for more than eight hours in a standoff with the police.
Speaking to reporters, Gandhi said his only demand was to meet CEC Gyanesh Kumar and raise his allegations regarding the election process.
“I want to meet the Chief Election Commissioner and tell him that he has done ‘vote chori’,” Gandhi said.
He also said he was willing to continue sitting at the site if the authorities did not allow him to meet the Election Commissioner.
Opposition demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation
The protest is part of a wider opposition campaign demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
The opposition has alleged that irregularities took place during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and has questioned the functioning of the Election Commission.
These allegations gained further attention following a September 25 report by The Indian Express that highlighted concerns related to the SIR process and differences among election commissioners.
However, Election Commission sources said that the poll body had not received any request from a political party seeking a meeting with the commissioners.
Rahul Gandhi targets Modi, Shah and Bhagwat
During the protest, Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat of “hijacking” the country with the alleged help of the Election Commission.
He described the alleged manipulation of the electoral process as “treason” and said those responsible would not escape accountability.
Gandhi also posted on X, targeting CEC Gyanesh Kumar, saying: “Gyanesh it’s done bro. Time to resign.”
Opposition MPs detained during march
The protest began around 10 am after opposition MPs marched from Parliament.
Police stopped the protesters near Akashvani Bhawan. Several opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC leaders Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, and CPI(M) MP John Brittas, were detained.
They were later released and some returned to the protest site.
Police had already imposed extensive security arrangements around the Election Commission office on Ashoka Road to prevent protesters from reaching the poll body’s premises.
Priyanka Gandhi joins Rahul in protest
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also joined Rahul Gandhi at the protest site.
She held discussions with a senior police officer as authorities attempted to resolve the standoff over Rahul Gandhi’s demand to meet CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
Several other Congress leaders, including K C Venugopal, Deepender Hooda, Charanjit Singh Channi, Praniti Shinde and Pawan Khera, also joined the protest.
BJP attacks Rahul Gandhi and opposition
The BJP strongly criticised the opposition protest.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accused the opposition of using the protest to express frustration over electoral defeats and making baseless allegations against constitutional institutions.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra accused Rahul Gandhi of attempting to create confusion and strengthen his political position by allegedly misrepresenting the Supreme Court.
Another BJP spokesperson, Sudhanshu Trivedi, criticised the opposition’s protest and questioned its demand for voting rights for people identified as absent, shifted, dead or duplicate voters.
BJD joins protest while DMK and AAP stay away
MPs from the Biju Janata Dal, which is not part of the INDIA bloc, also participated in the protest.
The Congress said opposition unity would continue against what it described as the alleged political misuse of constitutional institutions.
However, leaders of former INDIA bloc allies DMK and AAP did not participate in the protest.
The protest continued into the evening, with Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders remaining inside the Akashvani Bhawan premises while police maintained security around the area.
