Rahul Gandhi was detained by Delhi Police after staging a nearly nine-hour sit-in protest at Akashwani Bhawan. Police officers were seen holding his arms and upper body as they escorted him through the crowd and away from the protest site. The development came hours after the INDIA bloc's march from Parliament towards the Election Commission office, demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation amid allegations of vote irregularities and unilateral decisions.
Videos shows opposition leaders being put into buses.
The detention followed a high-voltage day of protests in the national capital. Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and others, were detained from Akashvani Bhawan around 8 pm, where they had staged a dharna against the Election Commission.
Earlier in the day, INDIA bloc MPs tried to push open the gates of Akashvani Bhawan as they intensified their protest. Around noon, Rahul Gandhi climbed a barricade near the NITI Aayog office and waved the Tricolour as cameras clicked. He then climbed down as police began detaining MPs who had sat on the road after their march was stopped.
Congress MPs Pawan Khera, KC Venugopal and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring were among those detained by Delhi Police.
Delhi Police and other security forces had been placed on alert, with barricades set up outside the ECI office. Meanwhile, New Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sachin Sharma was present at Akashvani Bhawan at the time of detention.
Earlier today, Delhi Police detained several Youth Congress and NSUI leaders, including IYC president Uday Bhanu Chib, outside Akashvani Bhawan.
The Congress leaders moved to Akashvani Bhawan after leaders of several INDIA bloc parties were stopped during their march to Nirvachan Sadan. The protest is part of a broader "Save Democracy" campaign announced by the Opposition, under which its leaders have been holding demonstrations and public programmes against the ECI amid a row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Gandhi was stopped by several layers of police barricades in the morning while attempting to proceed towards the ECI headquarters. He subsequently climbed onto one of the barricades and waved a large national flag, drawing loud slogans of support from INDIA bloc leaders and workers gathered at the spot.
He said around 300 MPs from both Houses of Parliament were stopped from meeting the Election Commission.
Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, who is among the party leaders staging a sit-in protest, had said that they would not move until their demands were met.
He alleged that the MPs wanted to meet CEC Gyanesh Kumar and his two colleagues but were prevented from proceeding towards the Election Commission's office.
"Here, there were around 300 MPs from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. We wanted to meet Gyanesh Kumar and his two colleagues, but the police have stopped us. We are representatives of this country, and we represent the country's people," the Leader of Opposition said.
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Later, he added: "...Now, if you are not allowing us to come here either, just give us any place in Delhi where we can sit. We will sit comfortably...We are protesting. The Constitution of India allows us to protest."