INDIA bloc marches to Election Commission as Rahul Gandhi attacks Modi government
The opposition's protest march to Election Commission headquarters on Tuesday escalated into a major confrontation between the Modi government and the INDIA bloc, culminating in an eight-hour dharna and detention of opposition leaders. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and other MPs from the Congress and allied parties forced their way onto the Akashvani Bhavan premises after police halted their march midway with heavy deployment and barricades.
The contingent, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Akhilesh Yadav, Sanjay Raut, Supriya Sule, and Abhishek Banerjee, had started from Parliament for the Election Commission office amid slogans targeting PM Narendra Modi, CEC Gyanesh Kumar, and the BJP. After initial detention and being led away in buses, Rahul Gandhi and other MPs including KC Venugopal, Deepender Hooda, Charanjit Channi, Praniti Shinde, Raja Warring, and Pawan Khera pushed into the Akashvani lawns and sat under a tree, where they remained despite police pleas to vacate.
According to Congress sources, the government had offered permission for five to seven members to meet the CEC, but the party insisted on a larger contingent comprising all alliance partners. The late-evening police action ended the prolonged demonstration that had extended far beyond what the government had anticipated.
