Rahul, Priyanka detained after 8-hour sit-in near Election Commission

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were detained by Delhi Police on Tuesday evening after an over eight-hour sit-in at the Akashvani Bhawan premises, where Opposition leaders had continued their protest after being stopped from marching towards the Election Commission headquarters.

Police personnel removed Rahul from the protest site around 8 pm and put him in a bus along with other Congress leaders. Priyanka and several Opposition MPs were also detained. They were taken to New Police Lines at Kingsway Camp and were released later in the night, according to the Congress.

March stopped midway

The confrontation began after INDIA bloc MPs attempted to march from Parliament towards Nirvachan Sadan, the Election Commission headquarters, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and other decisions of the poll panel.

Delhi Police said it had learnt about the proposed march through social media and that no application seeking permission for it had been submitted. Barricades were erected on Parliament Street to prevent the MPs from proceeding towards the Election Commission.

Several Opposition MPs were detained during the initial confrontation. Rahul climbed onto a police barricade and waved the Tricolour as protesters continued raising slogans.

Rahul, Priyanka and a smaller group of Congress leaders subsequently made their way into the Akashvani Bhawan premises, adjoining the Election Commission headquarters, and continued their protest there.

Sit-in stretches for hours

Rahul and Priyanka were joined at the sit-in by Congress leaders including K C Venugopal, Pawan Khera, Deepender Singh Hooda, Charanjit Singh Channi, K Suresh, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Praniti Shinde, Varsha Gaekwad and Imran Pratapgarhi.

The leaders demanded that a delegation of Opposition MPs be allowed to meet the Election Commission. Rahul said around 300 parliamentarians wanted to meet the poll panel and questioned why elected representatives were being prevented from reaching Nirvachan Sadan, located a short distance away.

The protest continued for more than eight hours. Police eventually moved into the Akashvani Bhawan premises in the evening and began removing the protesters after they declined to end the demonstration.

Visuals from the site showed several police personnel surrounding Rahul before taking him towards a bus. Other Congress leaders were also removed from the premises within minutes.

Around 250 detained

Delhi Police subsequently said around 250 people, including approximately 50 MPs, had been detained during Tuesday’s protest.

Among the Opposition leaders detained at different stages were several senior MPs from parties participating in the demonstration. Those detained were taken to police facilities, including New Police Lines at Kingsway Camp.

Rahul, Priyanka and the other Congress leaders were subsequently released. The detentions were preventive and temporary and did not, by themselves, amount to arrests on criminal charges.

EC gives its version

The Election Commission later issued a detailed clarification on why a meeting with the Opposition delegation had not taken place.

The poll panel said that until 4 pm, no political party or its authorised representative had sought an appointment with the Commission. It said Delhi Police informed it around 4 pm that a delegation of MPs led by Rahul wanted to meet the Commission and submit a memorandum.

The EC said it was subsequently informed that the proposed delegation would comprise 240 MPs and that the meeting was being sought at Parliament House Annexe.

Calling the proposal “unusual”, the Commission said its established protocol required meetings with political parties to take place at Election Commission premises. It therefore did not agree to the proposed meeting at Parliament House Annexe.

The Commission said it offered to send its senior-most serving officer to receive the Opposition’s memorandum, but the MPs did not accept the proposal.

Rahul targets CEC

During the sit-in, Rahul stepped up his attack on Kumar and alleged that the Election Commission had facilitated electoral manipulation. He also levelled allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

These were political allegations made by Rahul during the protest and have not been established as findings by a court or other competent authority. The Election Commission has rejected allegations questioning the integrity of the electoral roll revision process, while the BJP has dismissed the Opposition’s charges.

The INDIA bloc has been demanding Kumar’s resignation while raising objections to the SIR exercise and changes related to voter registration procedures.

Fresh case over Akashvani entry

A day after the protest, Delhi Police registered a case in connection with the entry of protesters into the Akashvani Bhawan premises. Rahul, Priyanka and other INDIA bloc leaders were named in connection with the incident.

Police alleged that the protesters entered the premises without permission and continued their demonstration despite being asked to leave. These are police allegations and will be subject to investigation and the legal process.

The case is separate from Tuesday evening’s temporary detention of the leaders.

What the fact-check establishes

Multiple independent reports, including accounts from PTI, Reuters and The Indian Express, confirm that Rahul and Priyanka were detained on Tuesday evening following the prolonged Akashvani Bhawan protest and were subsequently released.

The available accounts differ slightly on whether the sit-in lasted “over eight hours” or about nine hours. The more precise formulation is therefore an “over eight-hour sit-in”. Police said roughly 250 protesters, including around 50 MPs, were detained.

It is also established that the Opposition march did not reach the Election Commission headquarters, that Rahul and Priyanka continued their protest from the Akashvani Bhawan premises, and that the Election Commission later said no formal appointment request had reached it before 4 pm.

The Opposition’s allegations of “vote theft” and electoral manipulation, however, remain political allegations rather than established findings. Similarly, the EC’s explanation regarding the meeting represents the Commission’s account of the events and should be attributed to it rather than presented as an independently established explanation for the standoff.