The Crossbill Team
Opposition protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar escalated in New Delhi on Tuesday (October 6), with Delhi Police detaining several INDIA bloc leaders, including Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, after they refused to end their sit-in near the Election Commission.
The opposition parties had marched from Parliament towards Nirvachan Sadan, demanding a meeting with the CEC and seeking his resignation. Police stopped the march near the All India Radio (AIR) building, adjacent to the Election Commission office, where the leaders subsequently began a sit-in.
By evening, the protest had continued for several hours, with opposition MPs refusing to leave the site until they were allowed to meet the CEC and submit their demand. Police had earlier warned that the demonstration would not be permitted to continue through the night.
Around seven hours after Gandhi began the sit-in, alongside Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, Vadra, former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and MP Deepender Hooda, police moved in to clear the protesters.
Visuals showed police personnel surrounding Gandhi before placing him inside a bus. Vadra was also seen being taken away in a van, while Congress MP K.C. Venugopal was reportedly among those detained.
Gandhi and several other MPs were taken to the Kingsway police camp in northwestern Delhi, according to the Congress. The party shared a video of Vadra at the camp, saying she “arrived there and herself climbed onto the gate to unlock it”.
Overall 50 MPs among some 250 individuals were picked up on Tuesday evening, PTI cited the police as saying.
The LoP was released from the Kingsway police camp not long after 10 pm.
The police action came after the opposition leaders rejected repeated requests to disperse. Police personnel also attempted to clear mediapersons from the protest site as the demonstration continued into the evening.
The Election Commission, meanwhile, maintained that it had not received any prior request from an opposition party seeking an appointment with the poll panel on Tuesday.
According to the Commission, it learnt from the Delhi Police at around 4 pm that opposition MPs were marching towards its office. The INDIA bloc had announced last Wednesday, September 30, that its MPs would march to the Election Commission on October 6.
In a communique issued on Tuesday, the poll panel said it was informed by the Delhi Police that the opposition MPs wanted to meet the Commission at the Parliament House Annexe. The EC said it “considered this request as unusual” because it meets party representatives at its office in Nirvachan Sadan and therefore could not accept the request.
The Commission further said it had made an “unprecedented” offer to send its senior-most officer on duty to the Parliament Annexe to receive the opposition leaders’ memorandum, but claimed that the MPs rejected the proposal.
The poll body said it “respects the parliamentary and democratic processes of the country, as well as its own protocols and conventions, which are of utmost importance”, and added that political parties were free to seek appointments for meetings.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi criticised the Election Commission for refusing to meet the opposition delegation and said the poll panel would eventually have to meet the MPs.
“You can take it from me in writing: We will meet the Election Commissioner, and he will have to meet us. MPs are the voice of the country, and they have been insulted,” said Gandhi, who was earlier seen talking to senior police officers who wanted him to leave and “go home”.
“You cannot ask an MP to go to his house. It is my democratic right to protest,” Gandhi told the police officer.
After the opposition delegation was denied entry to the Election Commission office, the leaders moved into the nearby AIR building and continued their dharna. Carpets and white sheets were brought to the site as the protesters indicated that they intended to remain there indefinitely.
As the afternoon progressed, INDIA bloc leaders raised slogans at the makeshift protest venue, with a sizeable number of women participating alongside Kharge and other senior opposition leaders.
The march had earlier been halted by security personnel near the NITI Aayog office. Gandhi, Vadra and other INDIA bloc MPs were initially stopped as they attempted to proceed towards the poll panel. Congress workers outside the AIR building were also detained, while Youth Congress activists were picked up during the protests.
Speaking at Jantar Mantar in the afternoon, Congress MP and former Union minister Jairam Ramesh said, “This was supposed to be a peaceful march by the INDIA bloc to the Election Commission. I think they are now going to take us wherever they are going to take us.”
The developments came amid a series of protests against the CEC in recent days. The Delhi Police has been detaining protesters and taking them to locations not immediately disclosed. Reports have also said that internet access was blocked at Jantar Mantar and nearby areas when demonstrations against the CEC began last week.
Among those present in and around the protest were Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav, Venugopal, and senior Congress leaders and MPs Pawan Khera and Imran Pratapgarhi.
The detention of Gandhi and other opposition leaders brought the day-long confrontation to a dramatic close, as the INDIA bloc continued to press its demand for a direct meeting with the Election Commission and the resignation of the CEC.
The opposition parties had marched from Parliament towards Nirvachan Sadan, demanding a meeting with the CEC and seeking his resignation. Police stopped the march near the All India Radio (AIR) building, adjacent to the Election Commission office, where the leaders subsequently began a sit-in.
By evening, the protest had continued for several hours, with opposition MPs refusing to leave the site until they were allowed to meet the CEC and submit their demand. Police had earlier warned that the demonstration would not be permitted to continue through the night.
Around seven hours after Gandhi began the sit-in, alongside Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, Vadra, former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and MP Deepender Hooda, police moved in to clear the protesters.
Visuals showed police personnel surrounding Gandhi before placing him inside a bus. Vadra was also seen being taken away in a van, while Congress MP K.C. Venugopal was reportedly among those detained.
Gandhi and several other MPs were taken to the Kingsway police camp in northwestern Delhi, according to the Congress. The party shared a video of Vadra at the camp, saying she “arrived there and herself climbed onto the gate to unlock it”.
Overall 50 MPs among some 250 individuals were picked up on Tuesday evening, PTI cited the police as saying.
The LoP was released from the Kingsway police camp not long after 10 pm.
The police action came after the opposition leaders rejected repeated requests to disperse. Police personnel also attempted to clear mediapersons from the protest site as the demonstration continued into the evening.
The Election Commission, meanwhile, maintained that it had not received any prior request from an opposition party seeking an appointment with the poll panel on Tuesday.
According to the Commission, it learnt from the Delhi Police at around 4 pm that opposition MPs were marching towards its office. The INDIA bloc had announced last Wednesday, September 30, that its MPs would march to the Election Commission on October 6.
In a communique issued on Tuesday, the poll panel said it was informed by the Delhi Police that the opposition MPs wanted to meet the Commission at the Parliament House Annexe. The EC said it “considered this request as unusual” because it meets party representatives at its office in Nirvachan Sadan and therefore could not accept the request.
The Commission further said it had made an “unprecedented” offer to send its senior-most officer on duty to the Parliament Annexe to receive the opposition leaders’ memorandum, but claimed that the MPs rejected the proposal.
The poll body said it “respects the parliamentary and democratic processes of the country, as well as its own protocols and conventions, which are of utmost importance”, and added that political parties were free to seek appointments for meetings.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi criticised the Election Commission for refusing to meet the opposition delegation and said the poll panel would eventually have to meet the MPs.
“You can take it from me in writing: We will meet the Election Commissioner, and he will have to meet us. MPs are the voice of the country, and they have been insulted,” said Gandhi, who was earlier seen talking to senior police officers who wanted him to leave and “go home”.
“You cannot ask an MP to go to his house. It is my democratic right to protest,” Gandhi told the police officer.
After the opposition delegation was denied entry to the Election Commission office, the leaders moved into the nearby AIR building and continued their dharna. Carpets and white sheets were brought to the site as the protesters indicated that they intended to remain there indefinitely.
As the afternoon progressed, INDIA bloc leaders raised slogans at the makeshift protest venue, with a sizeable number of women participating alongside Kharge and other senior opposition leaders.
The march had earlier been halted by security personnel near the NITI Aayog office. Gandhi, Vadra and other INDIA bloc MPs were initially stopped as they attempted to proceed towards the poll panel. Congress workers outside the AIR building were also detained, while Youth Congress activists were picked up during the protests.
Speaking at Jantar Mantar in the afternoon, Congress MP and former Union minister Jairam Ramesh said, “This was supposed to be a peaceful march by the INDIA bloc to the Election Commission. I think they are now going to take us wherever they are going to take us.”
The developments came amid a series of protests against the CEC in recent days. The Delhi Police has been detaining protesters and taking them to locations not immediately disclosed. Reports have also said that internet access was blocked at Jantar Mantar and nearby areas when demonstrations against the CEC began last week.
Among those present in and around the protest were Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav, Venugopal, and senior Congress leaders and MPs Pawan Khera and Imran Pratapgarhi.
The detention of Gandhi and other opposition leaders brought the day-long confrontation to a dramatic close, as the INDIA bloc continued to press its demand for a direct meeting with the Election Commission and the resignation of the CEC.
Comments (0)
Leave a Comment