On Tuesday opposition leaders were detained in New Delhi after an INDIA bloc protest march from Parliament towards the Election Commission headquarters was stopped by security personnel. The demonstration was centred on the Opposition’s demands regarding the functioning of the poll panel and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The march was led by Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, along with Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several other leaders in INDIA bloc. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress leaders Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien were also among those arrested after police stopped the protesters on the way to the Election Commission office.
The opposition MPs had begun their march from the Parliament complex and moved towards Nirvachan Sadan, the headquarters of the Election Commission of India. Security personnel put up barricades near the NITI Aayog and Akashvani Bhawan area to prevent the protesters from moving any further. They subsequently staged a sit-in to press their demands.
At the center of the protest was the Opposition’s demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Opposition parties also raised objections to the SIR exercise involving electoral rolls and have claimed irregularities in the process. Such accusations are still made by protesting parties and the Election Commission has rejected them.
The protest was more active as Rahul Gandhi climbed onto a police barricade with the national flag. He later entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and continued the protest there. Opposition MPs also continued to participate in the demonstration after the main march was halted.
According to reports, the detained leaders were taken away by police vehicles and were later released. The detentions followed the clash between the protesters and security officers that came after the opposition and security forces were confronted as they tried to move closer to the Election Commission headquarters.
The demonstration brought together leaders from some opposition parties, reflecting the larger INDIA bloc campaign against the Election Commission over the electoral roll revision issue. Congress leaders as well as representatives from parties like the Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress participated in the protest.
The Opposition has argued that voters’ lists need to be more transparent and that action needs to be taken to rectify what they say is a lack of transparency in the electoral process. The Election Commission, however, has defended its decisions and the electoral roll revision process as being carried out according to established procedures.
Delhi Police had deployed additional security personnel and erected barricades around key points along the protest route. Security forces were also on hand in Parliament, Parliament Street and the Election Commission headquarters as the march began.
The clash between the protesters and police comes at a time of intense political debate over electoral rolls and the role of the Election Commission. The issue is a major point of contention between the Opposition and the poll panel, with opposition parties seeking answers about the SIR process and asking for more clarity on changes to voter lists.
For the opposition leaders, Tuesday’s march was meant to take their concerns directly to the Election Commission. But the police intervention kept them from entering the headquarters as planned. The detentions and sit-in turned the demonstration into a major political struggle in central Delhi.
The incident will keep the debate on electoral roll changes and the Election Commission’s functioning in the political spotlight. And opposition parties continue to raise doubts about the SIR exercise, all of which add to the conflict between the INDIA bloc and the election authorities in Delhi.
