Rahul, I.N.D.I.A. Bloc Leaders Detained Again After Protest March

New Delhi:What began as a lunch meeting at Janpath on Wednesday afternoon turned into a street confrontation after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other I.N.D.I.A. bloc leaders boarded buses for Jantar Mantar but were stopped by police barely a kilometre from the designated protest site.

The face-off ended with 91 Opposition leaders, including Gandhi, being removed from the road and detained for the second time in 24 hours.

The action came a day after Gandhi and other I.N.D.I.A. bloc leaders were detained following their march towards the Election Commission and an eight-hour sit-in at Akashvani Bhawan. The Opposition has vowed to continue its campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of “vote chori” and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The confrontation is set to continue on Thursday, with the I.N.D.I.A. bloc asking its MPs to remain in Delhi. TMC chief Mamata Banerjee is also likely to participate. The Congress will observe Thursday as a “Black Day” and organise protests at the state, district and block levels across the country.

The sequence began around 1.30 pm when Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hosted more than 100 Opposition MPs at Sagar Ratna on Janpath to discuss their next course of action. Leaders of the Congress, TMC, CPM, CPI, RJD, IUML and other parties attended the meeting.

About 90 minutes later, the leaders emerged and boarded three buses parked on Janpath to proceed towards Jantar Mantar.

Several Congress leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Imran Masood, Imran Pratapgarhi, Deepender Singh Hooda and Srinivas B.V., climbed onto the roof of one of the buses carrying Kharge and Gandhi.

The procession, however, was stopped by a multi-layered police cordon near the Shangri-La hotel.

Gandhi said the Opposition had decided to proceed to Jantar Mantar as it was a designated venue for peaceful protests.

“As I said yesterday, around 300 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs wanted to meet Election Commissioners, but they did not meet us. They told us that we cannot protest here,” he said, reiterating that the Opposition would continue its campaign until Kumar resigned.

“This is a fight to protect the most sacred thing in this country,” Gandhi said, accusing the government of denying democratic rights to the Opposition.

After police stopped the buses, the MPs got down and staged an impromptu sit-in at the roundabout. Vadra and several women leaders sat on the road holding copies of the Constitution as protesters raised slogans demanding the CEC’s resignation.

Police then moved in to clear the protesters, leading to a scuffle.

Gandhi resisted repeated attempts to put him into a police vehicle before security personnel surrounded him, lifted him off the ground and carried him towards a bus.

Vadra and other women leaders remained seated on the road as women police personnel moved in to remove them. She alleged that protesters were pushed and manhandled during the action.

“This is how they treat members of Parliament who are simply asking to meet the Election Commissioners,” Vadra said, alleging that police personnel had scratched and pushed protesters.

The confrontation continued around police vehicles. Warring and Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib climbed onto the bus carrying Gandhi, while Mumtaz Patel was seen sitting on its bonnet. Congress workers also claimed that they punctured the bus near Agrasen Ki Baoli.

Gandhi was taken to Barakhamba Road police station, where Congress leaders gathered and staged another protest.

Vadra, Hooda, TMC MP Mahua Moitra and other Opposition leaders were taken to the New Police Lines at Kingsway Camp. A video posted by the Congress showed the leaders raising slogans against the CEC. They were released shortly after 8 pm.

After his release, Gandhi said the Opposition would not back down and thanked I.N.D.I.A. bloc parties for supporting what he described as a fight to protect democracy.

RJD leader Manoj Jha and TMC’s Derek O’Brien also reiterated their parties’ support for the campaign.

The Opposition’s show of unity, however, came under scrutiny after the Samajwadi Party was absent from the lunch and subsequent protest. Representatives of Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP-SP were also not present.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said all I.N.D.I.A. bloc parties had been invited, but the decision to hold the protest had been taken late on Tuesday night, leaving little time for some allies to participate.

“I.N.D.I.A. bloc is united,” he said.

Kharge said the Congress and its allies would continue to raise the issue despite FIRs and arrests.

“To save the Constitution and democracy, the Congress and the Opposition are ready to take to the streets as many times as needed, face arrests or endure legal cases,” he said.

Asked about the FIR registered against him over Tuesday’s entry into Akashvani Bhawan, Mr Gandhi said he already faced numerous cases.

“I have 45 FIRs against me. My target is that there should be 100 FIRs against me. Every FIR against me is a medal for me,” he said.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also criticised the Delhi Police over the registration of FIRs against Opposition leaders.

Delhi Police, meanwhile, is examining videos of Wednesday’s confrontation to determine whether police personnel were assaulted during the protest. Sources said an FIR could be registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to assault or obstruction of public servants and other relevant offences.