Protests in Delhi continue; FIR against Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi

New Delhi: An FIR has been registered against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for allegedly entering Delhi’s Akashvani Bhawan without permission during an Opposition protest, Delhi Police said.

The two leaders were removed from the premises by police on Tuesday evening, nearly nine hours after they began a sit-in demanding a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Earlier in the day, Opposition leaders and MPs marched towards Nirvachan Sadan, the headquarters of the Election Commission of India, as part of their protest over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and their demand for the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

The protest saw several INDIA bloc leaders and MPs participating in the march, which was stopped by police near Akashvani Bhawan.

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said the march would remain peaceful. He also announced a wider protest programme by INDIA bloc parties, including district-level padyatras until October 8, block-level meetings from October 10 to 20, and state-level “Save votes, save the country” rallies from October 25 to November 25.

The political confrontation over the Election Commission’s special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls intensified as the INDIA bloc MPs, led by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest and attempted to march towards the poll panel’s headquarters. The Opposition demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The day-long standoff with police eventually ended with Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several other Opposition leaders being detained.

The march from Parliament towards Nirvachan Sadan was the second joint street demonstration by Opposition parties since the SIR exercise began. Leaders who participated included Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee, NCP (SP)’s Supriya Sule, RJD’s Manoj Kumar Jha and CPI(M)’s John Brittas.

Gandhi, Vadra and several Congress MPs, including K C Venugopal, Pawan Khera, Imran Pratapgarhi, Charanjit Singh Channi, Praniti Shinde and Deepender Hooda, entered the Akashvani Bhavan complex near the EC headquarters after crossing police barricades. They staged a sit-in for several hours before being detained.

Police had heavily barricaded roads leading to Nirvachan Sadan. Gandhi was stopped near Akashvani Bhavan and climbed over the barricades before being detained. He later joined Vadra and other Congress MPs inside the complex.

Gandhi said the protesters wanted to meet the Chief Election Commissioner and questioned the electoral process, insisting that they be allowed to continue their sit-in or be provided another location.

The standoff continued for around eight hours, involving several rounds of discussions and heated exchanges, before police detained the protesting leaders.

The detained leaders were later taken to the Kingsway Camp police facility. A large number of Congress workers gathered there, leading to further tension. Vadra, who arrived in a separate police bus, was initially unable to enter the facility because of the crowd.

The Opposition’s demand for CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation has intensified following an investigation by The Indian Express, which reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on 14 occasions over a 10-month period to various decisions taken by the Commission under Kumar.

The protest also saw participation from the Biju Janata Dal, which sent two MPs to join the march. The party has traditionally maintained distance from both the NDA and the INDIA bloc.

However, the demonstration also exposed differences within the INDIA bloc, with some allies reportedly expressing dissatisfaction over the Gandhi siblings’ prominent role in the protest.