A police official directed Indian Youth Congress and NSUI workers gathered outside Akashvani Bhavan to vacate the area, saying any assembly there was illegal and warning that those who did not comply would be detained. The detained Congress workers were later brought out of the premises in a bus.
Tensions escalated outside the Election Commission of India headquarters as Congress workers and INDIA bloc supporters attempted to enter Nirvachan Sadan, leading to scuffles with security personnel.
Also Read:Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi briefly detained after INDIA bloc march to EC stopped
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were stopped from entering the Election Commission office complex. INDIA bloc MPs subsequently staged a sit-in outside the EC office, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Gandhi questioned the Election Commission and the police over opposition representatives being stopped from meeting officials.
“More than 300 Opposition MPs marched from Parliament to the Election Commission today to meet the Election Commissioners. We represent crores of Indians. – Why aren’t the Election Commissioners meeting us? – Why is the police stopping and threatening us?,” he said.Gandhi also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, the RSS chief and CEC Gyanesh Kumar of destroying democracy and alleged that they had “hijacked” the country through “vote chori” carried out by the CEC.
“What has been done to country is treason, be it PM Modi, Shah, RSS chief or Gyanesh Kumar, none will be spared,” Gandhi said.
“Don’t care what BJP says, I am standing here to protect democracy,” he added.
Congress leader Pawan Khera criticised the police deployment, saying the opposition leadership was being prevented from handing over a memorandum to the Election Commission.
“The Election Commission is right next door, but they are not allowing the country’s Leader of the Opposition to go; he has been stopped. So you can see, Rahul Gandhi ji, Priyanka Gandhi ji, and all of us are sitting here on a dharna inside Akashvani. The Election Commission is hardly 100 meters from here,” Khera told reporters.
Khera further targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the government was “scared” and questioning the state of democracy in the national capital.
CPI (M) MPs, including John Brittas and V Sivadasan, were also detained.
CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said opposition MPs had been restrained from moving forward from the beginning because of the heavy deployment of security personnel, including the CRPF and RAF.
“We will intensify the movement. Detention is not the solution; only resignation is. We are all working unitedly, and there is no separate strategy. Even BJD joined us today beyond the limits of the INDIA alliance,” he said.
The opposition INDIA bloc had taken to the streets of the national capital on Tuesday, marching from Parliament towards Nirvachan Sadan and raising slogans demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
