After being detained, Rahul Gandhi said, 'Whatever Modi, Shah, Bhagwat and Gyanesh Kumar do, we will not leave them.'
Quick Look
- Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, who were protesting against the Election Commission in Delhi, were detained by the police.
- Priyanka Gandhi has accused the police of misbehavior.
- The opposition is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The opposition is alleging irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of the voter list. FIR has been registered against Rahul Gandhi and other leaders for entering Akashvani Bhavan without permission.
The opposition's protest against the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar continues in Delhi on Wednesday.
BBC correspondent Dilnawaz Pasha, who was present at the spot, said that Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, who were trying to go to Jantar Mantar with the opposition MPs for protest, have been taken into custody by the police.
Priyanka Gandhi accused the police of misbehavior.
She said, "How are they behaving with the MPs who are going to meet the Election Commissioner. They are beating us MPs. The policemen scratched me at many places. They pushed us and made us fall on the ground. Now we are not going to move from here. I will not move from here."
The opposition demands that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign.
This demonstration is taking place after a march to the Election Commission office on Tuesday and then a long dharna at Akashvani Bhavan.
Rahul Gandhi is continuously alleging 'vote theft' regarding alleged irregularities in the electoral voter list. The Election Commission and BJP have rejected these allegations.
Opposition parties including Congress are alleging irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of Voter List or SIR process and are saying that Gyanesh Kumar is trying to benefit BJP by meeting it.
Rahul Gandhi left for Jantar Mantar after lunch
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday hosted a lunch for India Block MPs at a restaurant in Delhi's Janpath. After this Rahul Gandhi and opposition MPs left for Jantar Mantar.
About 300 opposition MPs are preparing to participate in the protest at Jantar Mantar. A bus full of opposition MPs led by Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge is on the way to Jantar Mantar. Heavy security forces are deployed on the roads.
Rahul Gandhi said- 'Gyanesh Kumar is not a legitimate Chief Election Commissioner'
After lunch, Rahul Gandhi said that the opposition MPs had tried to meet the three Election Commissioners on Tuesday, but they were not allowed to meet.
He once again reiterated his demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and said that he does not consider him as the 'legitimate Chief Election Commissioner'.
After Tuesday's protest, an FIR has been registered against Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and some other leaders of India Bloc for allegedly entering Akashvani Bhavan without permission.
Responding to this, Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday that 45 FIRs have been registered against him and he wants 100 FIRs.
He said, 'Every FIR is a medal for me.'
Rahul Gandhi also said that he and the opposition are not going to back down.
What happened on Tuesday?
On Tuesday, about 300 opposition MPs were marching from Parliament towards the Election Commission office. The police stopped him near the Election Commission.
After this, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and some other leaders went to Akashvani Bhawan premises and sat on strike there. After this strike that lasted for several hours, the police detained Rahul Gandhi and other leaders.
Later, around 10 pm, Rahul Gandhi was released.
Delhi Police later filed an FIR against Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other leaders.
On Tuesday itself, the Election Commission issued a statement saying that the opposition MPs had not asked for any time to meet the election commissioners.
The Election Commission wrote, "Till 4 pm, no political party had sought time to meet the Commission through its authorized representative. After this, Delhi Police told the Commission that a delegation of MPs led by Rahul Gandhi wanted to meet and submit a memorandum."
According to the commission, the request for a meeting with the 240-member group of MPs at the Parliament House Annexe was unusual and not in accordance with protocol. The Commission proposed to send its most senior serving officer to collect the memorandum, but the MPs did not accept this either.
The Commission said that it respects the parliamentary and democratic processes of the country. Any political party can request to meet the Commission and the Commission can fix the time of the meeting as per its convenience.
What is BJP saying?
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said, "By opposing the SIR, Congress wants to retain the names of 2.8 crore dead people in the voter list? Did Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi become MPs by 'vote theft'? If SIR is illegal, then are the Congress governments of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal also illegal?"
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The opposition demonstration is likely to continue.
Likely · Within days
Open Questions
- Will the Election Commission hold any official meeting on the demand of the opposition?
- When will the detained leaders be released?





