The INDIA bloc’s march from Parliament to the Election Commission (EC) headquarters in New Delhi turned tense on Tuesday (October 6) as police stopped the protesters from reaching the Nirvachan Sadan. Several leaders were detained, while Congress workers attempted to push through the barricades.
Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Opposition leaders staged a sit-in at the nearby Akashvani Bhavan after police stopped them from moving ahead. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress leaders and several other Opposition MPs were also detained during the protest.
The Opposition is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and action over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The march began at Parliament’s Makar Dwar before the police stopped the MPs on the route to the poll panel’s office.
‘Why EC would not meet MPs’
Rahul questioned the EC over its refusal to meet the Opposition delegation.
“More than 300 Opposition MPs marched from Parliament to the Election Commission today to meet 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.
The Opposition leaders had planned to submit a memorandum to the EC. Police barricades stopped them from reaching the office, which is located a short distance from the Akashvani complex where several leaders gathered for the sit-in.
Congress leader Pawan Khera criticised the police deployment and said the Opposition was being prevented from reaching the poll panel.
“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 in Akashvani. The Election Commission is hardly 100 meters from here,” he said.
He also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, “The Leader of the Opposition wants to go there and submit his memorandum. But he is being stopped. Everyone is being stopped very ruthlessly. This is the condition of this country’s democracy in the national capital. We understand that Narendra Modi is scared. He should be. Given the kind of misdeeds they have committed, they should be afraid. Fear is justified.”
Workers detained, barricades breached
The confrontation extended beyond the Opposition MPs. Congress workers from the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) entered the Akashvani Bhavan premises, after which the police ordered them to leave.
A police official told the gathering that prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNS) were in force and warned that those who did not leave could be detained. The workers were later taken out of the premises in buses.
The police also detained several Opposition leaders. CPI(M) MPs John Brittas and V Sivadasan were among those taken into custody. Akhilesh Yadav and TMC leaders Derek O’Brien and Abhishek Banerjee were also detained during the protest.
Earlier, some MPs climbed police barricades as they tried to move towards the Nirvachan Sadan. Rahul was later seen standing on a barricade during the protest.
CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said security forces had been deployed in large numbers.
“We were restrained from moving forward from the very beginning. There was a huge deployment of security personnel, CRPF, RAF and other forces. We tried our level best to move forward. We will intensify the movement. Detention is not the solution, only resignation is,” he said.
Kumar also claimed that the protest had support beyond the INDIA bloc. “We are all working unitedly, and there is no separate strategy. Even the BJD joined us today beyond the limits of the INDIA alliance,” he said.
Opposition targets SIR, Gyanesh Kumar
Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa accused the government of allowing irregularities in the electoral process and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“We should demand the resignation of the prime minister and the home minister, at whose behest these wrongdoings are taking place. If the decision within the Election Commission is to be taken by just one person, then why were two other individuals appointed? The system should be scrapped,” he said.
RJD MP Sudhakar Singh said that the protest was about the functioning of democratic institutions. “It is not just the INDIA alliance, sensible voters across the country are united today. This is a crucial fight to save democracy and protect the Constitution,” he claimed.
SP MP Rajeev Kumar Rai said, “The people of the nation have come forward against the Election Commission of India.”
Congress leader Sukhdeo Bhagat said the Opposition would take the protest beyond Delhi.
“We are protesting in a democratic manner, and we will also stage protests at the district level. In a democracy, the people are supreme, and the public has now realised that this government was formed by stealing the mandate,” he said.
The protest followed Monday’s Supreme Court hearing on the SIR-related Form 6 dispute. The court said it had not approved the modifications being discussed and decided to examine the Election Commission’s records. The EC has said the statutory Form 6 was not changed, with the additional declaration being presented as a separate requirement.
The Opposition has used the top court proceedings as part of its case against the poll panel and has planned further protests in the weeks ahead. The programme includes district-level activity and a large rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on November 1.
