Opposition MPs stopped near the Election Commission headquarters as they demand CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over the Form 6 and voter-roll revision row
New Delhi: Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were detained on Tuesday after INDIA bloc MPs were stopped by security personnel while marching from Parliament towards the Election Commission headquarters in New Delhi.
The protesters were demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities linked to voter-roll revisions and Form 6.
The MPs began their march from Makar Dwar and were stopped on Parliament Street near the NITI Aayog office, on the route to Nirvachan Sadan. After being prevented from proceeding, the opposition leaders staged a sit-in and raised slogans against the poll panel.
Rahul Gandhi and TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee were seen climbing a police barricade after the march was blocked. Other participants included Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, TMC’s Derek O’Brien, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and CPI(M) leader John Brittas.
The protest followed the Supreme Court’s observation that it had not approved modifications to Form 6, with the court indicating that it would examine records to determine who authorised the changes.
The Election Commission, however, has rejected Rahul Gandhi’s allegations as “misleading” and maintained that the relevant SIR orders were approved by the Commission.
Heavy security and barricading were deployed around Parliament and the Election Commission office as the protest unfolded.
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