BB Desk
The Opposition’s march from Parliament Street to the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters took a dramatic turn on Tuesday after Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi climbed a police barricade and waved the Tricolour as security forces stopped the INDIA bloc MPs from proceeding towards Nirvachan Sadan.
The march organised by Opposition parties to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, began from Parliament’s Makar Dwar at around 11 am. The MPs were stopped near the NITI Aayog office, where heavy security and multiple layers of barricades had been deployed.
With the route blocked, Opposition MPs sat on the road and staged a dharna. Rahul Gandhi and Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee subsequently climbed a police barricade. Gandhi was seen holding and waving the national flag from atop the barricade before security personnel moved in.
The protest then shifted towards Akashvani Bhavan. Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with other Opposition leaders, attempted to move closer to the ECI headquarters but were stopped by security personnel. The two Congress leaders subsequently entered the Akashvani Bhavan premises and staged a sit-in inside the complex, where they were later seen sitting under a tree along with other leaders.
Several Opposition leaders were detained during the confrontation. Those detained included Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress leaders, among others. Priyanka Gandhi was initially taken towards a waiting bus but later returned and joined Rahul Gandhi at the Akashvani Bhavan gate.
The Opposition is demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and has stepped up its campaign against the Election Commission’s handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The parties have also raised questions over changes associated with Form 6, the application used for enrolment as a voter.
The controversy intensified after the Supreme Court, during a hearing on Monday, said it had not approved any modified version of Form 6 and indicated that it would examine the Election Commission’s records concerning the changes. The Election Commission meanwhile, has rejected allegations of wrongdoing and maintained that decisions relating to the SIR exercise were taken unanimously.
At Akashvani Bhavan, the standoff continued even as senior police officials sought to persuade the protesting leaders to disperse. Security forces, including Delhi Police and central armed police personnel, remained deployed around the protest site, while parts of central Delhi witnessed traffic restrictions and diversions.
Rahul Gandhi has also reiterated his demand for the CEC’s resignation. In a post on social media during the protest, he wrote: “Gyanesh it’s done bro. Time to resign.”
The day’s events have turned what was planned as a march from Parliament to the ECI into a prolonged confrontation between Opposition MPs and security personnel, with the protest continuing at Akashvani Bhavan, just a short distance from the poll panel’s headquarters.
