New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday said it had not received any request from any political party for a meeting, even as Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and others staged a protest near the poll panel’s office seeking a meeting with the election commissioners.
High drama unfolded during the INDIA bloc’s protest march from Parliament Street to the Election Commission headquarters as Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and some others entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises in a bid to reach the poll body’s office.
Responding to a query on whether INDIA bloc leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, had sought a meeting with the EC, poll panel officials said no request for a meeting on Tuesday had been received from any political party.
Rahul Gandhi occupied the centre stage of the Opposition’s street protest, leading to a total lockdown of Parliament Street. At one point, amid cheers from onlookers, he climbed atop multi-layer steel barricades, stood on them and waved the tricolour before slipping through police cordons to enter the All India Radio premises.
Until just before sunset, he remained inside the AIR compound in a standoff with police, who prevented the protesters from reaching the Election Commission office.
Several opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress MPs Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, were detained after police stopped the march.
Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, along with other MPs, were earlier stopped by security personnel on Parliament Street in front of Akashvani Bhawan and the Niti Aayog office during their march demanding the CEC’s resignation.
The march was the latest in a series of protests by politicians and civil activists seeking Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation since a September 25 report suggested irregularities in the SIR process and differences among the election commissioners.
