Rahul Gandhi going to Jantar Mantar detained, opposition adamant on demanding resignation of Gyanesh Kumar

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 opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who was trying to go to Jantar Mantar with opposition MPs for protest, has been taken into custody by the police. Earlier, Rahul and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi were stopped by the police on the way.

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.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday hosted a lunch for India Bloc 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 demonstration 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.

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'.

Following Tuesday's protest, an FIR has been lodged 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.

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 senior-most serving officer to collect the memorandum, but the MPs did not accept this either.

The commission said it respects the country's parliamentary and democratic processes. Any political party can request to meet the Commission and the Commission can fix the time of the meeting as per its convenience.

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?"

BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi also targeted Rahul Gandhi. He alleged that Rahul Gandhi was making "misleading, baseless and inconsistent" statements regarding the SIR.