Rahul Gandhi takes centre stage as Opposition takes SIR fight to Delhi's streets

A protest over the integrity of India’s electoral process turned into a dramatic street confrontation in the heart of the capital on October 6, with Rahul Gandhi leading hundreds of opposition MPs and supporters towards the Election Commission office.

The march, which began from Parliament House around 10 am, was halted by police near Akashwani Bhavan, around 200 metres from the Election Commission office. Opposition MPs then gathered on the road, while police detained several leaders and took them away in buses before releasing them later.

Gandhi subsequently moved towards the reception entrance of All India Radio, or AIR, after speaking to his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was seated inside one of the detention buses. He entered the AIR premises accompanied by his security personnel and remained there for hours in a standoff with the police.


At one stage, Gandhi climbed onto multi-layer steel barricades, waved the national flag and then moved through the police cordon into the AIR compound.

Also read | Protests erupt across India demanding resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over voter list manipulation

Eventually, Gandhi was detained by the police in late evening, along with Priyanka Gandhi.

Gandhi said his immediate objective was to meet Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and raise allegations of “vote chori” with him. He also indicated that he was prepared to remain at the site if the authorities did not allow the protesters to proceed, while seeking another location if their presence was not permitted.

The protest is part of a wider opposition campaign seeking Kumar’s resignation. The agitation followed a September 25 Indian Express report that raised questions over irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision process and differences among election commissioners.

Election Commission sources said the poll panel had not received a meeting request from any political party.

The opposition has alleged that Kumar is acting in favour of the government and helping the ruling party influence the electoral process. Gandhi also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat of having “hijacked” the country with Kumar’s assistance.

He described the alleged actions as treason and warned that those responsible would not escape accountability.

Also read | Rahul Gandhi says 'none will be spared', alleges Modi, Shah, RSS chief hijacked country through vote chori

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joined her brother in the protest inside the AIR premises and held a private conversation with a senior police officer as efforts were made to resolve the standoff.

The BJP strongly criticised the demonstration. The ruling party held three press conferences within a few hours and accused the Congress and its allies of creating disorder and attempting to revive Gandhi’s political fortunes.

Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the opposition was using allegations against constitutional institutions to express frustration over electoral defeats. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra accused Gandhi of creating confusion and advancing his political agenda by misrepresenting the Supreme Court.

Another BJP spokesperson, Sudhanshu Trivedi, criticised what he described as street theatrics and questioned the opposition’s position on voting rights for voters classified as absent, shifted, dead or duplicate.

Several opposition leaders were detained during the protest, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC leaders Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, and CPI(M) MP John Brittas. Many later returned to the protest site.

Congress leaders Deepender Hooda, Charanjit Singh Channi, Praniti Shinde, K C Venugopal and Pawan Khera joined the Gandhis inside the AIR compound.

Protesters carried cutouts portraying Kumar in an RSS uniform and raised slogans against the Chief Election Commissioner and the BJP. MPs from the Biju Janata Dal also participated, while DMK and AAP leaders stayed away.

Gandhi said more than 300 opposition MPs had participated in the march and questioned why the Election Commission was unwilling to meet them despite their claim of representing crores of Indians.

The political confrontation continued into the afternoon, with refreshments being brought for protesters inside the AIR premises and police maintaining their cordon around the site.