SIR row: Rahul, Priyanka detained during INDIA bloc protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were detained in Delhi on Tuesday, October 6, after the INDIA bloc protested against the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over massive irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The Gandhi siblings staged a prolonged sit-in at Akashvani Bhawan after police stopped the Opposition’s march from Parliament towards the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters. The protest ended after Rahul and Priyanka, along with several INDIA bloc leaders, were removed from the premises and detained.

The protesters had sought a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the other Election Commissioners to raise their concerns over the SIR exercise.

The INDIA bloc march began from Parliament at around 10.30 am and proceeded towards Nirvachan Sadan, the ECI headquarters. Police stopped the protesters near the NITI Aayog office using barricades. According to Delhi Police, the protesters had not been granted permission for the march.

Police said the protesters breached the first barricade and continued towards a second one despite repeated announcements asking them to disperse. Around 260 people, including 10 MPs, were detained during the protest, police said.

As the march was stopped, Rahul Gandhi climbed onto a police barricade and waved the national flag. Priyanka Gandhi was initially taken to a waiting police bus but got off and joined her brother near the Akashvani Bhawan gate.

Rahul, Priyanka and Congress MP Deepender Hooda subsequently entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises through the reception gate. Akashvani staff and security personnel attempted to stop them, but the leaders entered the premises and began a sit-in.

They were later joined by Congress leaders including KC Venugopal and Pawan Khera, while several other Opposition MPs and leaders reached the premises. Trinamool Congress leaders Derek O’Brien and Mahua Moitra also joined the demonstration.

Rahul Gandhi said the Opposition would remain at the site until its MPs were allowed to meet the Election Commissioners.

“300 opposition MPs were removed from there, so I came here and sat. We just want to meet Gyanesh Kumar and the other election commissioners. We are all opposition MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and we just want to talk to them. Don’t know why the Election Commission does not want to talk to us. Crores of people have voted for us. We just want to ask questions, but they don’t want to answer,” he said.

He later said the Opposition was willing to continue the sit-in and asked the police to provide an alternative venue if they did not want the protest to continue at Akashvani Bhawan.

“All I want to do is meet the Chief Election Commissioner and tell him that he has done ‘vote chori’. I can continue to sit here. I am comfortable here. If they don’t want us to sit here, give me some other site,” Gandhi said.

The ECI, however, disputed the Opposition’s claim that it had sought a meeting. In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, the poll panel said no political party had sought an appointment until 4 pm.

The ECI said it was subsequently informed by Delhi Police that a delegation led by Rahul Gandhi wanted to meet the Commission and submit a memorandum. According to the poll panel, the delegation comprised around 240 MPs and sought to meet the Commission at the Parliament House Annexe.

The ECI said the request was not accepted because, under its protocol, such meetings are held at the Commission’s premises. It said it offered to send its senior-most officer on duty to receive the memorandum, but the MPs declined the offer.

The standoff at Akashvani Bhawan continued for around nine hours. Delhi Police eventually entered the premises and removed Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other protesters.

Police said the action was taken after Rahul refused to leave and insisted that the MPs be allowed to meet the ECI. The police cited prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and said the protesters had repeatedly disregarded directions to disperse.

The leaders were taken to the New Police Lines at Kingsway Camp and were released later in the night, according to the Congress.

The protest has also led to a separate complaint against the Gandhi siblings. Akashvani Bhawan authorities complained to the Parliament Street police, alleging that Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and others forcefully entered the premises during the protest.

According to the complaint, the leaders entered the government office premises despite being confronted by guards and staff. A Police Control Room call was also made after they entered the building, according to reports.

The Opposition’s protest is part of its wider campaign against the ECI over the SIR exercise. INDIA bloc parties have accused the poll panel of irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls and have demanded Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and withdrawal of the SIR.

The agitation has intensified following an Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on 14 occasions over 10 months to decisions taken by the Commission on issues including voter additions and deletions. The ECI has said differences of opinion and suggestions are part of the decision-making process and that all final decisions were unanimous.

The protest also came a day after the Supreme Court clarified that it had not approved changes made by the ECI to Form 6, the statutory form used for voter registration. The court said it would examine the ECI’s records to determine who authorised the changes.