New Delhi: Following a high-voltage protest in the national capital, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and others were detained by Delhi Police from Akashvani Bhawan, where they staged a dharna against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Congress MPs Pawan Khera, KC Venugopal and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring were among those detained by Delhi Police.
New Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sachin Sharma was present at Akashvani Bhawan.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Police detained several Youth Congress and NSUI leaders, including IYC president Uday Bhanu Chib, outside Akashvani Bhawan.
Congress leaders staged a sit-in protest at Akashvani Bhawan after leaders of several INDIA bloc parties were stopped during a 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.
Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, who was among the leaders staging the sit-in protest, had said they would not move until their demands were met.
“Unmoved. Unfazed. We will not budge until our demands are met. We will not rest until our democracy is saved from the Vote Chors,” Venugopal posted on X.
Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack against the Centre, while asking the Election Commissioners to meet Opposition leaders and answer their questions regarding the SIR of electoral rolls across the nation.
Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of “hijacking” the country and undermining the electoral process.
Meanwhile, the Fact Check unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) debunked posts claiming that the Union Home Ministry had reached out to Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who were staging a dharna at Akashvani Bhawan.
Certain social media pages claimed that the ministry had approached the Congress leaders to end the impasse. However, the Congress leaders communicated to officials that they would continue their protest until they were allowed to meet the Election Commissioners amid the row over the SIR exercise.
“Do not fall for misleading claims or unverified information. Rely only on verified sources,” PIB Fact Check posted on X.
