- Police are blocking opposition protest against ECI.
- MPS scene-sit-in-protest on the road.
- Priyanka Gandhi also arrested.
Indian Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi and other MPs were detained by the New Delhi police during their protest march against the Election Commission for India’s (ECI) office over “voter fraud” claims, according to Indian media reports.
Apart from Rahul and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the New Delhi police detained several opposition members in parliament (MPS).
“This match is not political … It’s to save the Constitution. The fight is for ‘a person, a voice’,” ” Ndtv reported Rahul as saying while moving by police.
Confirmation of opposition leaders’ detention, the joint commissioner of police Deepak Purohit said that politicians had been taken to a nearby police station.
The police officer, who quoted the reasons behind their detention, said the opposition lacked the necessary permission to hold a protest on such scale and that only 30 MPs were allowed to march against the ECI office and file a complaint.
Purohi’s remarks come after the Inc-led Indian national developmental inclusive alliance (India) began a march against the ECI office.
The political turmoil in New Delhi relates to Rahul’s renewed accusations against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and ECI, which they conspired to rig elections and practiced manipulation of the vote.
Last week, during an opposition Huddle, Rahul said there had been a “huge criminal fraud” during the election in Lok Sabha in 2024.
He quoted a study in Karnataka, which according to him revealed six important irregularities: Multiple items for the same voters, duplicate registrations across states, false addresses, clusters of bulk voters in single homes, unclear photographs on voter IDs and abuse of form 6, which are used for registration of first-time states.
The politician also accused the voting body of creating a “choreographed schedule” for the election of a state assembly in collaboration with BJP and claimed that ECI refused to share digital versions of voter rolls.
The Election Commission responded strongly to Gandhi’s claims, called them an “absurd analysis” and called on the congress leader to support his claims with a formal statement under oath.
“If Rahul Gandhi believes in his analysis and believes that his accusations against the Election Commission in India are true, he should have no problem signing the statement. If he does not sign the statement, it would mean he does not believe in his analysis and the resulting conclusions and absurd accusations. In this case he must apologize for the nation.”
