Election Commission declines meeting with opposition MPs at Parliament House annexe
The Election Commission declined a meeting with opposition MPs led by Rahul Gandhi at Parliament House annexe, stating that meetings should be held on its premises and through authorized representatives. The confrontation escalated on Tuesday as Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were among approximately 250 people detained during an INDIA bloc protest in Delhi demanding a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and his resignation.
The Election Commission noted it had not received prior appointment requests from the parties until late in the day. According to the Commission's statement, the police DCP only informed them of the Leader of Opposition's desire to meet at 4 pm. Despite being offered an opportunity to submit a memorandum, the opposition MPs rejected the proposal. The Commission maintained it had an established procedure for such requests and was prepared to meet a delegation of authorized representatives.
The BJP criticized the opposition's approach, with BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi stating that the Commission's statement had clarified that no formal request for a meeting was received from either the INDIA Alliance or the Congress party. Trivedi noted that Rahul Gandhi had intended to enter the premises with 300 MPs, which the Commission indicated had never happened in India's history and for which there was insufficient space.
