Opposition leaders detained and released after protesting near Election Commission office

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with other INDIA bloc leaders, were detained late Tuesday evening after staging a hours-long protest near the Election Commission office in central New Delhi. They were released later in the night.

The protest began around 10 am when a march led by the opposition leaders was stopped near Parliament House. Parliament Street was shut down as Gandhi, opposition MPs and supporters tried to march toward the EC office. Demonstrators climbed police barricades before managing to enter the Akashvani Bhavan premises.

The leaders were demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The protest followed a report that two Election Commissioners had objected on record 14 times in 10 months to actions taken by the Commission under the CEC, including keeping them uninformed while adding new voters and deleting names.

Throughout the day, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra remained inside the AIR premises, insisting on meeting the CEC. They were joined by SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, TMC leaders Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, and CPI(M)’s John Brittas. BJD MPs, who are not part of the INDIA bloc, also participated in the march, while DMK and AAP leaders stayed away.

“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. If they don’t want us to sit here, give us some other site,” Gandhi said from inside the premises.

Targeting the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister and the RSS chief, Gandhi alleged that the country had been “hijacked” through vote manipulation. “What has been done to our country is treason. Nobody is going to escape,” he said. Later, in a post on X, he wrote, “Gyanesh it’s done bro. Time to resign.”

As police began detaining MPs, Gandhi spoke to his sister seated inside a bus, and both walked back inside the Akashvani Bhavan premises. Congress leaders Deepender Hooda, Charanjit Singh Channi, Praniti Shinde, K C Venugopal and Pawan Khera also joined them inside. Several MPs returned to the protest site after their release from police detention.