INDIA bloc march against Election Commission was over. Then, Gandhis did this - The Indian Express

The INDIA bloc protest against the Election Commission took a surprise turn on Tuesday, thanks to Rahul Gandhi and his sister and Wayanad MP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Opposition MPs were detained and pushed into buses to different police stations in Delhi. The protest was all but over when the siblings pulled off an impromptu move that even left Congress leaders confused.

Priyanka was already seated in one of the buses, parked outside the Akashvani Bhavan, the headquarters of All India Radio, and Rahul was about to get in. Suddenly, the siblings looked at each other, and then walked past the cops and into the Akashvani Bhavan premises. The move was off the script and the police personnel initially did not know how to react.

Once the Gandhis went inside, Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Pawan Khera climbed the boundary wall of Akashvani Bhavan and started raising slogans. Congress leaders Imran Pratapgarhi and Srinivas BV joined them.

Most Congress leaders said they had thought the protest was over. “We don’t know what happened. This was not part of the plan,” one of them said.

According to sources in the Congress, Rahul Gandhi planned to enter the Akashvani Bhavan premises and then exit through the back gate, located opposite the Election Commission. All the other routes to the poll panel’s office were blocked for the rally, so the Leader of the Opposition made this plan on the go, the sources said.  Once he entered the Akashvani Bhavan premises, police officers shut the back gate. So he sat here in protest,” said a source.

“Only the two of them know what they had in mind when they walked in,” said a Congress MP outside Akashvani Bhawan.

At this point, the Congress leaders are still camping on the premises as top security officers talk to them.

Personnel from Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force are now stationed outside the Akashvani Bhavan. A police officer said the force inside the premises was to ensure the leaders’ safety.

Congress leaders have credited the Gandhis with derailing the police plan to end the protest. “The protest would have been over if they didn’t do this.”

Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera said in a post on X, “In the morning, the India Alliance attempted to walk towards the election commission. The police forcibly stopped the MPs. Currently, Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra along with several leaders, are sitting on a dharna inside the All India Radio premises which is next to ECI office.”

The Congress leaders are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of disenfranchising voters through the Special Intensive Revision exercise to give advantage to the ruling BJP.

According to highly placed sources in the Congress, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is leading negotiations with the top police officers.

Following The Indian Express investigation on the rift within the poll panel, underlining how two Election Commissioners objected on record at least 14 times in 10 months to decisions taken without their knowledge, the Election Commission acknowledged these notes, but described them as part of the panel’s “decision-making process”. However, it did not respond to any of the concerns raised by the two Commissioners, nor did it state whether or how these concerns had been addressed.

Earlier, top Opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress MPs Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, were detained as police stopped the march to the Election Commission office. The protesting MPs were taken away in buses.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said the opposition would continue its protest to protect voting rights and democracy. “This protest will continue. We are doing this to protect your vote and your freedom. The people of the country are saying that many of their votes have been deleted and vote theft is taking place, and we are fighting and will continue to fight for their protection,” he said.

Criticising the Opposition march to the Election Commission to demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, the BJP said this was yet another attempt by the Congress and its allies to create anarchy and relaunch Rahul Gandhi. Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the Opposition leaders are “venting their frustration” over electoral defeats by levelling baseless allegations.

“Friends in the opposition, the very system you are questioning is the one under which you won in Kerala. Was that victory illegitimate? You won in Karnataka. Was that victory illegitimate? You won in Himachal. Was that victory illegitimate? Opposition governments were formed in Punjab and Jharkhand; were those victories illegitimate?” the senior BJP leader asked.

“If you question constitutional institutions, you will commit the sin of plunging the country into the fires of anarchy. Do not commit the sin of plunging the nation into unrest and anarchy. The country and its people will never forgive you,” he added.

Addressing the media at the BJP headquarters, party spokesperson Sambit Patra said, “The Congress has been repeatedly trying to launch and re-launch Rahul Gandhi by any means necessary. When, despite numerous attempts, he failed to gain traction, the Congress and some of its allies decided that even if it meant resorting to anarchy and undermining the nation’s democracy, they would launch Rahul Gandhi politically at any cost.” “As part of these efforts, they attacked the Indian army from time to time, the Supreme Court, Hindus, and EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines). And for the last few weeks, they have been attacking the Election Commission,” Patra said.

Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusin... Read More