Priyanka, Rahul Gandhi detained during opposition protest in Delhi
Rahul Gandhi climbed over the police barricades and was briefly detained along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Several opposition MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, were detained today (6 October) after police stopped their march towards the Election Commission of India in New Delhi.
The INDIA bloc leaders were marching from the Parliament complex to the Election Commission headquarters, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Police stopped the march near the NITI Aayog office on Parliament Street and erected barricades to prevent the protesters from proceeding towards the poll panel's headquarters. The MPs then staged a sit-in on the road.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Rahul Gandhi climbed over the police barricades and was briefly detained along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
The two Congress leaders later attempted to enter the nearby Akashvani Bhavan to reach the Election Commission headquarters but were stopped by security personnel.
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee and other opposition leaders also climbed the barricades during the protest. Akhilesh Yadav was among those detained as the police moved to stop the march.
The protesters demanded greater transparency in the electoral process, the return of ballot papers and Kumar's resignation. They also alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise and claimed that genuine voters, including those from minority and Dalit communities, were being excluded from electoral rolls.
Heavy police and Rapid Action Force personnel were deployed around Parliament Street and the Election Commission headquarters, with several MPs detained and taken away in buses as security forces prevented the protesters from reaching the poll panel's office.
