Delhi Police detained senior opposition MPs, including the Congress' Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, Monday morning as their protests over the Election Commission's 'collusion' with the ruling BJP spilled over into the streets of central Delhi.
As Mr Gandhi and his colleagues were bussed away, he told reporters climbing over each to get a quote, "This fight is not political... it is to save the Constitution. The fight is for 'one person, one vote'."
"The reality is they cannot talk... the truth is in front of the country," he declared.
Joint Commissioner of Police Deepak Purohit confirmed the detention but declined to give a number, telling reporters, "Detained INDIA bloc leaders have been taken to a nearby police station."
Mr Purohit said the opposition did not have police permission for a protest of this scale, and that only a group of 30 MPs had been allowed to march to the Election Commission and submit a complaint.
"The Election Commission said 30 MPs could visit them... but over 200 came marching. We stopped them to prevent any breakdown of law-and-order. They were then detained. Some MPs tried jumping barricades.. they were also detained," Deputy Commissioner of Police Devesh Kumar Mahla said.
Visuals from the protest site outside the Parliament building showed a small army of politicians and party workers, many waving placards, shouting slogans, and pushing back against police barricades.
Another visual showed Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav climbing over two police barricades.
And there was yet more drama after the Trinamool said two MPs, including Mahua Moitra, fainted.
The Congress-led INDIA bloc began the day with plans for a march to the poll panel's office.
On The Streets: Opposition vs EC
The police responded by blockading roads around the Parliament building, setting up barricades (that some tried to climb), and deploying large numbers of security personnel to gherao protesters.
The drama and protest led to both Houses being adjourned till 2 pm.
The opposition is protesting voter fraud committed by the ruling BJP and Election Commission.
The allegations have been bubbling over since last year's Maharashtra election.
The opposition bloc (i.e., the Congress and the Shiv Sena and NCP factions led by Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar) have accused the EC of manipulating voter lists to ensure a BJP victory.
The opposition has pointed to apparent discrepancies, like an unusually large number of new voters just six months after the federal election in the state, which the BJP lost.
Similar allegations have been made about the Lok Sabha election in Karnataka too.
Last week Rahul Gandhi fired up PowerPoint presentations at meetings of the INDIA bloc.
He presented data to back his claim of widespread voter fraud and repeated his demand - that the poll panel release a searchable draft of voter lists, so the opposition can check for errors.
The opposition's protests have also been fuelled by the 'special intensive revision' of the Bihar voter list, an exercise ordered by the Election Commission months before polls in that state.
The voter list revision has been challenged in the Supreme Court.
Petitioners have said it is illegel, i.e., it exceeds the authority of the poll panel, and questioned the timing, warning that excluded voters will not have time to have appeals settled. The opposition has also claimed the exercise was ordered by the BJP to eliminate vote banks that traditionally vote for them.
Additionally, questions were also raised about the EC rejecting common government IDs, like the Aadhaar or even its own identity card, for voter re-verification purposes.
The court, however, allowed the SIR to continue but directed the EC to ensure genuine voters are not excluded, and those who have been - around 65 lakh - get time to appeal the exclusion.
The EC has responded sharply to all of these charges, insisting its procedures are transparent and are meant to ensure free-and-fair elections. It has also hit back hard at Rahul Gandhi and his allegations, demanding he state his claims in a signed affidavit and provide proof.
In a particularly strong rebuttal Friday, the Election Commission said the Congress had "tried to mislead the Supreme Court" in 2018, referring to a petition by ex-Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath.
The BJP, meanwhile, has criticised Rahul Gandhi for "maligning a constitutional body".
"If Rahul Gandhi values his credibility, he must, under a declaration or oath, submit the names of the ineligible electors he claims are on the voter list... " the BJP's Amit Malviya said in an X post. "Failure to do so will make it clear he has no real case and was merely engaging in political theatre."
Source: NDTV
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