Rahul Gandhi, Opposition MPs Stage Sit In at Akashvani Bhawan After Police Stop March to ECI
INDIA bloc leaders demand CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and raise concerns over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls
New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and several INDIA bloc leaders staged a protest at Akashvani Bhawan on Tuesday after Delhi Police stopped their march towards the Election Commission of India headquarters.
The opposition MPs had started the march from Parliament towards Nirvachan Sadan, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and raising concerns over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Heavy security and barricades were deployed along the route to the Election Commission office.
After being stopped near the NITI Aayog and Akashvani Bhawan area, several opposition leaders sat on the road and staged a dharna. Some leaders were detained and taken away in police buses.
Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra later entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises and continued their protest. Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Pawan Khera also joined them, while police and Rapid Action Force personnel remained deployed outside the premises.
Several prominent opposition leaders participated in the march, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress leaders Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, NCP SP MP Supriya Sule and other INDIA bloc MPs. Akhilesh Yadav and several other leaders were detained during the protest.
Rahul Gandhi questioned why the Election Commission was not meeting the opposition leaders. He said that the MPs represented millions of citizens and wanted to meet the Chief Election Commissioner to raise their concerns regarding the electoral rolls.
The Election Commission, however, said it had not received any formal request from a political party seeking a meeting with its officials on Tuesday.
The protest is part of the opposition’s continuing campaign against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Opposition parties have alleged that large numbers of genuine voters have been removed from electoral rolls and have demanded that the process be withdrawn and affected voters restored.
The Election Commission has rejected the allegations and maintained that the revision process is being conducted according to the applicable procedures.
The INDIA bloc had earlier announced its decision to march from Parliament to the Election Commission headquarters and demand action over its concerns regarding the electoral roll revision. The protest comes amid a wider political confrontation between the opposition and the poll panel over the SIR exercise.
The developments at Akashvani Bhawan have added to the political tensions surrounding the issue, with opposition parties indicating that their campaign will continue in the coming days.