Delhi Police clear PM’s residence protesters: Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi briefly detained

NEW DELHI: Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and several senior Opposition leaders were detained on Tuesday after staging an unprecedented dharna outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, triggering a major security response in one of the capital's most sensitive zones.

The protest, led by Rahul Gandhi, was held to demand a response from the Prime Minister over Monday's police crackdown on the Cockroach Janata Party's Parliament march. Congress leaders and MPs gathered outside Gate No. 2 of the Prime Minister's residence and sat on a dharna before Delhi Police moved in to disperse them.

Police physically removed the protesters, pushing aside Rahul Gandhi's CRPF security cordon. Rahul Gandhi and AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal were dragged away as they resisted. Police also used force against other leaders who tried to block the eviction. Rahul Gandhi, who was sitting on the road, was lifted and carried to a police vehicle. He sustained minor injuries to his face during the scuffle.

Priyanka Gandhi also resisted being taken into custody. As she held on to the footboard of a police bus, women police personnel pulled her inside. Later, Priyanka Gandhi alleged that male police personnel had dragged them away, torn their clothes and injured Rahul Gandhi during the operation.

Among those detained were Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Independent MP Pappu Yadav, and MPs Kodikunnil Suresh, Dean Kuriakose, VK Sreekandan, Shafi Parambil, Rajmohan Unnithan and Hibi Eden.

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Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan and Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar also joined the dharna but were not arrested. Kerala Minister PC Vishnunath was taken into custody. Speaking from inside the police vehicle, Vishnunath said the Modi government would eventually be forced to bow before the protest.

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Rahul Gandhi was released from Chhatrasal Stadium at around 9.40 pm, while Priyanka Gandhi was released from Mandir Marg police station. Rahul Gandhi later said the Opposition would raise the issue in Parliament.

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The protest was planned after Congress leaders gathered at party president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence at 10, Rajaji Marg to celebrate his 84th birthday. During the meeting, leaders discussed the Centre's refusal to allow a parliamentary debate and decided to march to the Prime Minister's residence instead. The sudden move caught Delhi Police, security agencies and even the media by surprise, while traffic in the area remained disrupted for several hours.

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Senior Congress leaders, including Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh, sat on the road with their hands tied using bands as part of the protest. Police cleared the site and detained all the protesters by around 7 pm

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The protest marked the first time in India's political history that a Leader of the Opposition staged a dharna outside the Prime Minister's official residence. The unprecedented breach has been viewed as one of the country's biggest intelligence failures, and action is expected against officials held responsible. Earlier in the day, Opposition MPs had considered marching to Rashtrapati Bhavan but later dropped the plan.

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Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who oversees the Prime Minister's Office, reached the protest site and held talks with Rahul Gandhi in an attempt to defuse the situation. The discussions, however, failed to produce a breakthrough. Later, Singh said Rahul Gandhi was interested in confrontation rather than dialogue and maintained that the Center remained willing to discuss the NEET issue in Parliament.