High drama marked the INDIA bloc's march from Parliament Street to the Election Commission headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday, as Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with other supporters, entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises in an attempt to reach the poll panel's office.
The Congress leaders along with other MPs were earlier stopped by security personnel on Parliament Street near Niti Aayog office during their march to demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.
After being prevented from proceeding further, they sat on the road in protest. Soon Rahul Gandhi and TMC's Abhisekh Banerjee climbed atop a police barricade, while Priyanka Gandhi was taken to a awaiting bus for being detained.
However. she was soon seen alighting from it and joined her brother at the Akashvani gate.
Despite being prevented by police, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Deepinder Hooda entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises from the reception gate. They were later seen sitting under a tree.
Police personnel were seen asking them to vacate the premises but the Gandhi siblings refused to relent and insisted that they want to go to the Election Commission office.
Rahul Gandhi questioned the police on where the Opposition could sit to protest.
Gandhi said the Opposition MPs only wanted to meet Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the other two Election Commissioners to raise questions on the electoral process.
“We only want to meet Gyanesh Kumar and the other two Election Commissioners,” Gandhi said, adding that the Election Commission was unwilling to meet the MPs despite being elected by “crores of people”.
Questioning the police over restrictions on the protest, Gandhi said, “Where can I sit?” He said he had earlier been removed from one spot and asked the police to tell him where he could sit without being removed.
“Can I sit at India Gate? Can I sit at Jantar Mantar? Can I sit on the road? Where can I sit? Just name a place, and I will sit there,” he said.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress leaders Derek O'Brien, Abhishek Banerjee and other opposition leaders were detained and taken in a bus.
Area Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Sharma reached the spot with a large posse of policemen in a bid to evict the protesting opposition members.
During the march, opposition MPs were seen carrying cutouts depicting Kumar in an RSS uniform and raised slogans, including “BJP hai CEC hai”, “Vote chor, gaddi chhod” and “Democracy not for sale”.
In a post on X, Gandhi posted, “Gyanesh it's done bro. Time to resign".
Heavy security deployment and barricading had been put in place in and around Parliament and the Election Commission headquarters ahead of the march.
Security personnel were stationed in the area much before the MPs began arriving. The MPs gathered at Parliament's Makar Dwar before setting off towards Nirvachan Sadan, the Election Commission headquarters.
Ahead of the march, opposition MPs questioned the security arrangements and stepped up their demand for Kumar's resignation, citing the Supreme Court's observations on changes to Form 6, the statutory application for enrolment as a voter.
Congress MP Imran Masood accused Kumar of eroding public trust in the Election Commission.
"Across the country, the institution that Gyanesh Kumar headed was an institution the entire country trusted, an institution the entire country took pride in and felt proud of. Questions were never raised over its impartiality. One person has broken that trust," he told PTI Videos.
"And an entire nexus is working together. We will question Gyanesh Kumar, and the BJP chief ministers will start giving the answers," he alleged.
CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said the Supreme Court's observations on Monday had strengthened the opposition's objections to the additional declaration attached to Form 6 during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
"On September 26, there was a press statement by the Commission and it was stated that the entire process related to Form 6 has been ratified by the Supreme Court. Whereas it has been proven that it is an entirely misleading statement," he alleged.
Calling the CEC a "Cheating Election Commissioner", the CPI leader said opposition parties had been agitating against the provisions since 2025 and would intensify their movement.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut questioned the scale of security deployment ahead of the march, saying the MPs intended to proceed peacefully.
"We are MPs. We are members of Parliament. We are also citizens of this country. Why is there a need to deploy such a large force to stop us? We will walk and go. We are unarmed," he said.
Raut claimed that Border Security Force and CISF personnel had been deployed and security outside ministers' residences increased.
Accusing Kumar of misleading the public over the Supreme Court's position on Form 6, he said the CEC had "no moral right" to continue in office.
The Supreme Court on Monday said it had not approved any modified version of Form 6 and would examine the Election Commission's records to ascertain whether changes had been made and who had authorised them. The observations were made while hearing a petition challenging alleged unilateral decisions by Kumar.
In its September 26 statement, the Commission had said the declaration attached to Form 6 for SIR had been upheld by the Supreme Court, while forms prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would be used outside the SIR period.
The march comes amid an opposition campaign over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise and reports of differences within the three-member Commission. The poll body has rejected suggestions of a split and maintained that decisions relating to SIR were taken unanimously.
(With inputs from PTI)