Politics

Police Detain Rahul Gandhi and MPs During Protest Over Election Commission Roll Revision

By Today News Hours Editorial Desk

Police in Delhi removed opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and other MPs from a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a controversial voter roll revision. Video footage showed police forcing Gandhi onto a bus and preventing him from exiting through a window, which quickly spread on social media. The protest, part of a broader standoff between opposition parties and the Election Commission, followed accusations that the commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls favored the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Both the BJP and the commission denied the allegations. Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and other MPs sat in protest at a nearby building after being stopped during a march to the commission’s office. The commission said it was willing to meet the opposition but objected to a proposed 240‑member delegation meeting at Parliament. In a statement released Tuesday night, the commission said a party representative must request an appointment and that meetings are held at the commission. Gandhi had said earlier that the opposition simply wanted to meet the election commissioners and ask questions about the voter roll revision. “We are all opposition MPs… and we just want to speak with them,” he told reporters. “I do not know why the Election Commission does not want to talk to us.” News agency ANI, citing a police statement, reported that the protesters were removed “to maintain law and order and prevent the situation from escalating.” A police complaint was also registered against the Gandhis for entering Akashvani Bhavan (the Broadcasting House) without permission, PTI reported. Security was tightened around the commission headquarters on Tuesday, with police barricading roads between Parliament and the commission’s office. Officers, some carrying batons and wearing body cameras, reportedly outnumbered protesters along the route. In the afternoon, police detained several MPs who tried alternative routes to reach the commission, according to police official Manjeet Sheoran, who told the BBC. “They were picked up in buses and taken to different police stations,” he said. The Gandhi siblings were also detained and taken away in a police bus but were released shortly afterwards. They then resumed their march before staging a sit‑in at Akashvani Bhavan near the commission headquarters. Police did not disclose how many lawmakers were detained. The opposition said 237 MPs from several parties took part in the march. The protest came four days after the Cockroach Janta Party, a Gen Z‑backed online satirical movement, organized demonstrations in Mumbai and Delhi demanding the CEC’s resignation. The group described those demonstrations as the start of a nationwide campaign and called for another round of protests on 10 October. The controversy centers on the SIR of electoral rolls, which began in Bihar in June 2025 and has since expanded nationwide. The commission says the revision removes duplicate and ineligible voters; more than 130 million names have been removed from draft lists. Opposition parties and activists allege that many eligible voters have been excluded and accuse the panel of conducting the process improperly. The campaign against Kumar gained momentum after an Indian Express investigation reported that election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over a 10‑month period to decisions and orders issued in the commission’s name without their knowledge. The objections related to additions and deletions from voter rolls, access to the voter database and the security of electoral data. The three‑member commission defended its decision‑making process, saying differing views were part of institutional functioning and that decisions were ultimately taken unanimously. The revelations triggered a political backlash, with opposition leaders intensifying calls for Kumar’s resignation. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said they had three “non‑negotiable” demands: Kumar’s resignation, cancellation of the SIR exercise and a return to paper ballot voting. Rahul Gandhi mocked the election chief on Twitter, tweeting: “Gyanesh, it’s done, bro. Time to resign.” The BJP condemned the protests. BJP MP Sambit Patra described them as a “sponsored attempt” to bring about a change of power through “anarchy” and accused opposition parties of seeking to undermine constitutional institutions, including the Election Commission. The controversy has also reached India’s Supreme Court, which has asked both the federal government and the Election Commission to respond to a petition alleging that Kumar took key decisions without the approval of the two other election commissioners.