INDIA bloc leaders led by Rahul Gandhi stage sit-in near ECI office

INDIA bloc leaders, led by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, staged a sit-in protest inside the Akashvani Bhawan premises in New Delhi after police stopped their march to the nearby Election Commission of India (ECI) office. The leaders, carrying tricolours and 'Save democracy' banners, were briefly detained following high drama where Gandhi climbed a barricade to wave the national flag.

New Delhi: INDIA bloc MPs, led by the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi staged a sit-in metres away from the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) office in the Akashvani Bhawan premises.

Rahul Gandhi, along with Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, MPs Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Pawan Khera, and Imran Pratapgarhi, were seen sitting under a tree in the Akashvani Bhawan premises after the Opposition leaders pushed open the gates of the institution in a bid to reach the ECI headquarters, which is around 300 metres away.

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Later, according to sources, a PCR call was made from Akashvani Bhawan mentioning that Rahul Gandhi entered the premises forcefully.

Addressing reporters, Khera said: “The Election Commission is right next to us, and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha is not being allowed to go to the Election Commission; he has been stopped. So, you can see Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, our Venugopal, Channi, Imran Pratapgarhi and all of us are sitting in protest here inside Akashvani Bhawan.”

“The Election Commission is barely 100 metres from here, and when the Leader of Opposition wants to go there and submit a memorandum, he is being stopped, and everyone is being stopped very harshly. You saw the situation outside. This is the state of democracy in the national capital of this country,” he added.

Holding tricolours and banners reading ‘Save democracy’, the INDIA bloc MPs raised slogans against the CEC, BJP and the RSS as they marched towards the ECI headquarters.

In view of the protest, Delhi Police and other security forces had been placed on alert. Barricades were also set up outside the ECI office.

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, along with several other INDIA bloc leaders, were also briefly detained after they were stopped from heading towards the ECI’s office.

Gandhi was stopped by several layers of police barricades 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 the INDIA bloc leaders and workers gathered at the spot.