NEW DELHI: The face-off between the INDIA bloc and the Chief Election Commissioner spilled onto New Delhi’s streets for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, as police forcibly detained Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition MPs for the third time in two days. This came after a flash protest demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
After an hour-long standoff, police carried Rahul Gandhi into a bus and forcibly removed Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who lay on the road holding a copy of the Constitution. The siblings and other detained leaders were released later.
Rahul said the Opposition’s protest would continue until Kumar resigned, calling it a fight to protect the “most sacred thing” in the country. Later asked about the FIR against him for Tuesday’s eight-hour sit-in, he said, “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.”
The protest followed a luncheon for INDIA bloc leaders hosted by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge at a restaurant on Janpath in central Delhi. The leaders then boarded buses to head to Jantar Mantar, where heavy security had been deployed. When police stopped their buses on Ashoka Road,
Rahul and other leaders got out and staged a sit-in, triggering a confrontation with security personnel. As police bodily removed Rahul and put him in the police bus, some Congress leaders climbed atop the bus and bonnet. A large posse of women personnel removed Priyanka and others and took them away in buses.
The show of Opposition unity was marked by the absence of the Samajwadi Party. However, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said, “In the future, you might hear about a meeting over tea. We could all sit down and eat samosas too... Diplomacy will continue.” As for the Cockroach Janta Party, it will launch its protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10.
Split verdict recall: SC to examine plea
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to examine a plea seeking recall of its split verdict on whether challenges to the 2023 law governing the appointment of the CEC and Election Commissioners should go to a larger Constitution bench
