Another day, another high-voltage drama unfolded on the streets of Jantar Mantar as INDIA bloc MPs sought the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision exercise.
Amid the protest, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was seen lying on the road as several INDIA bloc MPs were detained by the Delhi Police while marching towards Jantar Mantar.
A video showed Priyanka Gandhi lying on the road and saying, “I will not move from here. This is how they treat MPs who simply want to meet the Election Commission. This is how they beat up MPs. Women police personnel have scratched me all over and thrown us to the ground. Let them call their forces back.”
Police personnel later removed and detained Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from the site near Jantar Mantar.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was also detained by the police.
The development came after heavy security was deployed near Jantar Mantar in the national capital as INDIA bloc MPs moved towards the protest site against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
The protest came a day after INDIA bloc MPs attended a meeting convened by Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss the issue concerning the CEC.
On Tuesday, INDIA bloc MPs began their protest march and dharna at Akashvani Bhawan. The opposition leaders later stepped up their agitation and moved towards Jantar Mantar, resulting in the detention of several leaders and the registration of FIRs against Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
What INDIA bloc leaders are saying?
Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi accused the Centre of “hooliganism” after opposition MPs were stopped from marching forward.
Channi said, "We want to go towards the ECI office; this government has resorted to hooliganism. There is no democracy. We are being stopped."
Congress MP Pawan Khera said, "It is our democratic right; we are fighting for this right. Article 19 grants us permission to protest in this manner, and Jantar Mantar is a designated spot; if we cannot stage a protest here, then where else can we do it? We are fighting for our rights--fighting for the rights of the country''s voters—yet every time, we are being stopped in this struggle. We are being prevented from even entering this designated protest site, Jantar Mantar; Members of Parliament are being stopped from entering. It is not the Delhi Police''s fault; their boss is a coward."
RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha alleged that the police used force against the protesting MPs. He said that along with CEC Gyanesh Kumar, the NDA government also has to go.
"This is a launch. Not just Gyanesh Kumar; this Government is going out now. They are launching a lathi charge on the soul of India, on the democracy of India. Shame on such people."