Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Congress leaders, who were detained after their over-eight-hour sit-in inside the Akashvani Bhawan premises for not being allowed to march towards the Election Commission (EC)’s office in Delhi, were released by the Delhi Police a little after 10 pm on Tuesday (October 6), the Opposition party said.
Priyanka, the Congress general secretary, reportedly climbed over a gate at the New Police Line, Kingsway Camp, where Rahul and other opposition leaders were being held. Congress workers and others also entered the premises there. The leaders had been taken to the Kingsway Camp police lines after being forcibly removed from the Akashwani Bhawan premises, where they had held an over-eight-hour sit-in protest.
Rahul led the Congress attack against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his immediate removal over “vote chori” (vote theft) charges.
Both Rahul and Priyanka were later seen leaving the New Police Line, Kingsway Camp.
Not a single traitor will be spared: Rahul
Earlier in the day, high drama unfolded in Delhi as the Opposition’s street protest led by Rahul forced a total lockdown of Parliament Street as he led the sit-in that ended with his forcible detention.
The Opposition began its march on the “vote chori” allegation from the Parliament House around 10 am amid heavy barricading by police.
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Along with Rahul, police had forcibly removed other Congress leaders including KC Venugopal, Charanjit Singh Channi, Pawan Khera, K Suresh, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Deepender Hooda, Praniti Shinde, Varsha Gaekwad, and Imran Pratapgarhi, from the AIR.
In a post in Hindi on X soon after his detention, Rahul said, “To save the traitors of democracy, the remnants of democracy have been dragged through the mud. There will be a reckoning – not a single traitor will be spared,” he said.
Protest, scuffle, detention
While most opposition MPs were detained and prevented from moving forward, Rahul along with other Congress MPs including Priyanka, entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises, barely 200 metres from the EC office, insisting that they be allowed to meet the election commissioners.
Their sit-in, which began around noon, ended after 8 pm, when a large number of police personnel forcibly removed Rahul from there and pushed him and others into police vans and buses, as the MPs resisted. There were scenes of jostling and scuffling between protesters and police, with a policeman seen locking his arms around Rahul from behind.
Police said nearly 250 people were detained.
Rahul Gandhi, TMC’s Derek O’Brien and a Samajwadi Party MP, besides Priyanka Gandhi and K C Venugopal and others were taken in different vehicles to various police stations and released after a brief detention, capping an action-packed day of opposition protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
‘Modi, Shah have hijacked country’
Earlier, Rahul alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat have “hijacked” the country through “vote chori”. They were helped by Gyanesh Kumar, he added.
“What has been done to our country is treason. Nobody is going to escape,” he asserted.
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The Congress leader also said that he was standing to protect democracy in the country, along with 300 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs.
“All I want to do is meet the Chief Election Commissioner and tell him that he has done ‘vote chori’. I can continue to sit here. I am comfortable here,” the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said earlier.
‘PM, Shah nervous’, says Kharge
The Congress called the detention of Rahul, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, from a “peaceful sit-in protest” a “sign of a regime that knows its exit is imminent”.
Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that “considerable nervousness is evident in the behaviour of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister”.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said he was horrified to see the images of Rahul Gandhi being manhandled and dragged off to detention, and asserted that the government’s reaction to the protest against the disenfranchisement of 130 million voters is “disgraceful”.
Earlier, Rahul remained holed up inside the AIR in a defiant standoff with the police, who largely remained passively resolute in preventing the protesters from reaching the Election Commission office.
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At one point during the march, he, buoyed by cheers of onlookers, climbed atop multi-layer steel barricades and waved the tricolour, before slipping through the police cordons to sneak into the premises of All India Radio.
The march was the latest in a series of protests by politicians and civil activists to press for CEC Kumar’s resignation since a September 25 Indian Express report that suggested irregularities in the SIR process and differences among the election commissioners.
EC sources said that it has not received any request from any political party for any meeting.
The opposition claims that CEC Kumar is working at the behest of the government to ensure that the election process favours the ruling party.
BJP calls Rahul 'kaamchor'
The BJP, which held four back-to-back press conferences on Tuesday, including one after Rahul’s detention, slammed the march and claimed that it was yet another attempt by the Congress and its allies to create anarchy and relaunch Rahul.
Calling the protest “theatrics on the street”, the saffron party alleged that Rahul was trying to create anarchy with his “baseless” allegation of “vote-chori” instead of working diligently to regain people’s faith in favour of his party to win elections.
“The reality is that Rahul Gandhi is a ‘kaamchor’ (slacker) and he is levelling allegations of ‘vote-chori’,” party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi charged, adding, “How many times has Rahul Gandhi ever camped in a poll-bound state for at least one week or two weeks and campaigned for his party”.
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Hitting out at the INDIA Bloc, Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that through this march, they are “venting their frustration” over their electoral defeats by levelling baseless allegations against the constitutional bodies to malign their image.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, Trivedi also alleged that the Congress organised the protest march just to “create ruckus” and keep the “spotlight” on Rahul and Priyanka.
“This becomes clear from the Election Commission’s statement which clearly stated that neither INDI Alliance nor the Congress had sought an appointment for a meeting with the Election Commission. And when they were given time and asked to send their representative, they refused,” the BJP leader said addressing the last press conference on Tuesday night.
INDIA Bloc refused to see EC official: BJP
The EC was ready to send an official to the protest site to receive their memorandum of demands, but they refused, Trivedi claimed, adding that the poll panel’s statement “exposed the lies” of the Congress and Rahul.
He also termed as a “lie” the Congress’ claim that 300 MPs participated in the protest march, asking the opposition party if all of its MPs were even present at the protest site by the evening, leave aside those of INDIA Bloc constituents.
Union minister Kiren Rijiju asked Rahul to “serve people” to get their mandate, instead of abusing the EC for electoral setbacks.
“The time has come for the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi to put an end to their drama which they have been enacting since 2014,” he said.
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Rijiju said that foreign forces constantly push narratives to malign constitutional institutions and mislead the people of India.
“The Congress, at the very least, should not propagate these anti-India narratives,” he added.
Rahul misquoting SC: Sambit Patra
At a press conference at the BJP headquarters, party spokesperson Sambit Patra criticised Rahul, accusing him of trying to spread “confusion” and “boost his politics” by misquoting the Supreme Court.
Citing the Supreme Court’s Monday hearing on a PIL, Patra said the court did not say that Form 6 was illegal.
Earlier, Rahul on X claimed that it was now established beyond doubt that the CEC changed Form 6 “illegally and unilaterally”.
Form 6 is filled by those seeking inclusion in the voters’ list.
“The Supreme Court did not make any such statement. It has just issued notices. A hearing has not even taken place yet. The CJI has stated that the matter will be examined when a hearing takes place. Yet, Rahul Gandhi is attempting to create an atmosphere of anarchy, lies, deceit, and confusion in the country,” Patra said.
Rahul is trying to “boost his politics” by invoking the Supreme Court and is misquoting it, he alleged.
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