INDIA bloc leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were detained and removed from a protest site in New Delhi by police on Tuesday, marking a second consecutive day of high-stakes demonstrations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The opposition leaders led a massive protest over contentious voter list revisions, demanding the dismissal of the poll chief amid growing allegations of electoral manipulation.
High Drama and Sit-Ins Outside Akashvani Bhavan
The confrontation escalated when opposition lawmakers attempted to march toward the Election Commission of India offices. While security forces blocked most parliamentarians, Rahul Gandhi, alongside Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other party loyalists, pushed past barricades to enter the Akashvani Bhavan premises just 200 metres from the EC office.
Inside the compound, the siblings staged a six-hour-long sit-in protest demanding direct access to the Election Commissioners. The demonstration prompted police to file formal First Information Reports against Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for entering Akashvani Bhavan without permission.
Undeterred by the legal action, Rahul Gandhi dismissed the charges during a subsequent gathering on Janpath. There are 45 FIRs against me. My goal is 100,
he remarked, welcoming further legal challenges from the administration.
Resistance on the Asphalt and Transport Complications
The friction spilled onto the capital’s streets on Tuesday and Wednesday as police moved to clear demonstration sites. Officers rounded up protesters and forced them into waiting transport vehicles. According to Congress, protesters punctured one of the tyres of the bus, prompting authorities to transfer Rahul Gandhi to another bus and take him to a police station on Barakhamba road, where he was held for hours before release.
Before their removal, dramatic scenes unfolded on the tarmac. As officers attempted to clear the surrounding crowd, the INDIA bloc leaders left the bus and reclaimed the roadway. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sat directly on the pavement and later lay down, challenging authorities to move her by force. This is how they treat MPs? This is unprecedented. We will not move from here,
she declared.
Following her detention near Jantar Mantar, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra issued a video condemnation of the crackdown. There is no other way left now except to remove this government,
she stated, warning that the administration was dismantling constitutional principles.
Origins of the Electoral Roll Row
The mass protests find their roots in institutional disclosures. The Indian Express reported divisions in India’s poll body over the revision of voter lists. Two election commissioners allegedly raised at least 14 formal objections over ten months concerning registrations, deletions, and restorations, as well as control of electoral roll data.
Critics and opposition parties argue that minority voters disproportionately feature among those deleted during the revision process. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge asserted that the poll panel acts as a government proxy, telling the media that his coalition is fighting to save our democracy.
Conversely, the Election Commission of India has rejected allegations of bias, maintaining that the exercise removes deceased, relocated and duplicate voters and also prevents the inclusion of “foreign illegal immigrants.”
The controversy deepened with the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as CEC in 2025 by a selection panel helmed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—an appointment that Rahul Gandhi opposed during proceedings.
Legal Challenges and Opposition Strategy
The political standoff has reached the judicial branch. India’s Supreme Court issued formal notices to the Election Commission of India, the Modi government, Kumar and the other two election commissioners following a batch of petitions challenging the roll revision irregularities, noting that if there are decisions against the law … We will take care of it.
Following their release, INDIA bloc leaders convened at a lunch meeting hosted by Mallikarjun Kharge at the Sagar Ratna restaurant on Delhi’s Janpath. The coalition used the gathering to chart subsequent steps for their ongoing campaign against what they term “vote chori” (vote theft).
With opposition parliamentarians vowing to sustain their agitation until their demands are met, questions remain regarding the Supreme Court’s response to the petitions against the CEC.
