New Delhi [India], October 6 (ANI): Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday said the Opposition would continue its protest inside the Akashvani Bhavan premises, and said that if Delhi Police was “uncomfortable” with the demonstration, it should provide an alternative venue.
INDIA Bloc MPs earlier marched towards Nirvachan Sadan, the headquarters of the Election Commission of India (ECI), where they were stopped by barricades. Following this, the MPs staged a sit-in demonstration inside the nearby Akashvani complex, located around 100 metres from the poll panel’s office. Several MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, were seen scaling barricades while attempting to reach the Election Commission headquarters.
“We don’t have any problem with protesting here… We will continue our protests here… If they (Delhi Police) are uncomfortable with us protesting here, they can provide us with another place to protest… The Constitution allows us to lodge a protest,” Gandhi told reporters at Akashvani Bhavan.
Leaders of several INDIA Bloc parties participated in the march and raised their concerns over the electoral roll revision process. The protest is part of the broader “Save Democracy” campaign announced by the Opposition, under which its leaders have been holding demonstrations and public programmes against the Election Commission.
Tensions escalated during the protest as Congress workers and INDIA Bloc supporters attempted to force their way into Nirvachan Sadan, leading to scuffles with security personnel.
Police detained Congress cadres who had entered Akashvani Bhavan, as prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were in force in the area following the march.
A police official also directed Indian Youth Congress and NSUI workers gathered outside the building to vacate the area, declaring that any assembly there was illegal. The official warned that those who did not cooperate would be detained. The detained workers were subsequently taken away in a bus.
Gandhi also targeted the Election Commission and the police over the denial of access to opposition representatives seeking to meet commission officials.
He said, “300 opposition MPs were removed from there, so I came here and sat. We just want to meet Gyanesh Kumar and the other election commissioners. We are all opposition MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and we just want to talk to them. Don’t know why the Election Commission does not want to talk to us. Crores of people have voted for us. We just want to ask questions, but they don’t want to answer.”
Training guns at the Centre and CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Gandhi added, “The democracy is finished. Narendra Modi ji, Amit Shah, Mohan Bhagwat and Gyanesh Kumar have finished the vote. The nation has understood. In a way, Narendra Modi ji and Amit Shah ji have hijacked the country. We are trying to ‘Save the Constitution’.”
The fresh controversy comes in the backdrop of an Indian Express report, which claimed that two of the Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, raised 14 objections during the SIR exercise. The Election Commission has maintained that the decisions were unanimous.
Opposition leaders have also raised questions over the modification in Form 6. The Supreme Court on Monday said that it had not approved any modified version of Form 6 being used for the enrolment of new voters during the SIR exercise. (ANI)
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