Several opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress MPs Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, were detained after police halted the march, which was held to demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
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Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other MPs were stopped on Parliament Street near Akashvani Bhawan and the Niti Aayog office as they headed towards Nirvachan Sadan, the Election Commission headquarters.
After being prevented from proceeding, the leaders sat on the road in protest. Rahul Gandhi and Banerjee were seen climbing atop a police barricade, while Priyanka Gandhi was taken to a waiting bus for detention.
She soon got off the bus and joined Rahul Gandhi near the Akashvani gate.
The two Congress leaders, along with Deepender Hooda, subsequently entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises through the reception gate. They were later seen sitting under a tree as police personnel asked them to leave.The leaders refused to vacate the premises, insisting that they wanted to proceed to the Election Commission office.
Area Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Sharma reached the spot with a large contingent of police personnel as authorities moved to clear the protesting opposition leaders.
Ahead of the march, heavy security and barricading had been deployed around Parliament and the Election Commission headquarters. Opposition MPs had gathered at Makar Dwar before setting off towards Nirvachan Sadan.
The protesters carried cutouts depicting Kumar in an RSS uniform and raised slogans including “BJP hi CEC hai” and “Vote chor, gaddi chhod”.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said: “Gyanesh it’s done bro. Time to resign”.
Also Read: Delhi Police arms frontline personnel with bodycams amid protest-related allegations
Opposition steps up attack on EC
The march is part of the Opposition’s broader campaign against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and its demand for greater transparency from the Election Commission.
Biju Janata Dal MPs also joined Tuesday’s march, with Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh saying the participation reflected wider Opposition solidarity.
“We have taken out a peaceful protest march this morning. It was basically the India Jan Bandhan. And we had appealed to all the opposition parties. I’m very happy that the BJD has responded physically, so we’ve had BJD MPs. And I’m sure the opposition parties that are not here physically are with us in spirit,” Ramesh said.
“Other Opposition parties were present no doubt in spirit as would have been some who are temporarily in the NDA,” he added.
“The solidarity of the Opposition to defeat the nefarious designs of the PM-HM (Narendra Modi-Amit Shah) duo will most definitely be sustained whether it comes to Vote Chori or Delimitation,” Ramesh said.
“The countdown to the exit of the Bharatiya Jhoot Party has already begun,” he added.
Ramesh said Tuesday’s march was only the beginning of a wider campaign.
“So this was meant to be a march till the Election Commission. We were stopped in front between Akashvani Bhawan and the old Planning Commission building. And we were prevented from going up to Nirvachan Sadan,” he said.
“I think they are now going to detain us. But this is only the beginning. So, what have they already announced a month-long program, a month and a half-long programme? There’ll be a massive rally on the 1st of November in Ramlila Maidan, ‘vote bachao, desh bachao’. In the first phase, we are having padyatras and campaigns in every block. And then from October 25th till the 25th of November, we are going to have more intensive programs, the chaupals and so on,” he said.
Supreme Court observations add fuel to Form 6 row
The Opposition’s latest protest also comes a day after the Supreme Court questioned the Election Commission’s position on the additional declaration attached to Form 6 during the SIR exercise.
CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said the court’s observations had strengthened the Opposition’s objections to the form.
“On September 26, there was a press statement by the Commission and it was stated that the entire process related to Form 6 has been ratified by the Supreme Court. Whereas it has been proven that it is an entirely misleading statement,” he alleged.
Calling the CEC a “Cheating Election Commissioner”, Kumar said opposition parties had been raising objections to the provisions since 2025 and would intensify their campaign.
The Supreme Court on Monday said it had not approved any modified version of Form 6 and would examine the Election Commission’s records to determine whether changes had been made and who had authorised them.
The observations came during the hearing of a petition challenging alleged unilateral decisions by Kumar.
In its September 26 statement, the Election Commission had said the declaration attached to Form 6 for the SIR exercise had been upheld by the Supreme Court, while forms prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would be used outside the SIR period.
The protest comes against the backdrop of the Opposition’s continuing allegations of irregularities in the SIR exercise, as well as reports of differences within the three-member Election Commission.
The poll panel has rejected suggestions of a split and maintained that decisions relating to the SIR exercise were taken unanimously.
