Opposition protest shakes Delhi; Rahul Gandhi arrested after 10-hour agitation

NEW DELHI: The Opposition’s protest against the Election Commission intensified on Tuesday, putting the national capital on edge as INDIA bloc leaders staged a major demonstration against the poll body.

After nearly 10 hours of protests, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and several other leaders were arrested and taken away by the Delhi Police. The leaders staged a sit-in at the Akashvani compound, around 100 metres from the Election Commission office. The arrests took place around 7.45 pm.

Rahul Gandhi suffered an injury to his face while resisting the police. He and several other prominent leaders were released by around 10.30 pm.

At 7.45 pm, Delhi Police forcibly arrested Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other leaders and took them to Kingsway Camp in Delhi.

Police personnel forcibly lifted Rahul and put him on a bus. He tried to jump out through a window but was injured when the police attempted to push him back inside.

The INDIA bloc leaders had begun their march at around 10 am, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The alliance leaders jointly protested against Gyanesh Kumar. Police stopped the march with barricades about 100 metres from the Election Commission headquarters. Rahul, Priyanka and other leaders climbed onto the barricades while holding the Tricolour.

Akhilesh Yadav, John Brittas, A. A. Rahim and several others staged a sit-in on the road and were taken into custody. MPs were dragged and put into buses. The situation turned tense when protesters climbed onto the buses in an attempt to stop the arrests. When the detained MPs returned and resumed their protest, pushing and shoving broke out between them and the police. Around 300 MPs took part in the march.

Rahul takes another route to reach Election Commission

As the police began detaining the leaders, Rahul Gandhi took a different route to reach the Election Commission headquarters, catching the police off guard. At around 12.20 pm, Rahul and Priyanka entered the Akashvani compound near the Commission office. They intended to reach the Election Commission headquarters through that route. After the police stopped them, they staged a protest under a banyan tree on the premises. K. C. Venugopal and other leaders also arrived later. The leaders sought permission to meet the Election Commissioners, but the police did not allow them to do so. The protest continued for nearly seven hours before the police forcibly arrested the leaders in the evening.