Priyanka Gandhi Detained Near Jantar Mantar During INDIA Bloc Protest

NEW DELHI- Opposition INDIA bloc MPs, including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were detained by Delhi Police on Wednesday after their buses were stopped short of Jantar Mantar during a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The demonstration followed a lunch meeting of alliance MPs hosted by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at a restaurant on Janpath. Leaders then boarded buses toward the designated protest site, citing the Election Commission’s refusal a day earlier to meet roughly 300 MPs who had sought to raise concerns over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and allegations of irregularities described by the opposition as “vote chori.”

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Police halted the convoy near Windsor Place, around a kilometre from Jantar Mantar, under a heavy security presence. Rahul Gandhi was among those removed from the site and placed in a police bus. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several other women MPs staged a sit-in on the road, with Priyanka holding a copy of the Constitution. Video from the scene showed police personnel lifting and carrying her away after she refused to move.

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Speaking during the confrontation, Priyanka Gandhi said, according to accounts carried by multiple outlets: “This is how they treat Members of Parliament who are asking simply to meet the Election Commissioner. This is how they treat us. They are beating MPs. The policemen have scratched me all over. They have thrown us to the ground. Now, we are not going to move from here. Let them crawl their forces back. I will not move from here.”

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Earlier in the day, addressing reporters, Rahul Gandhi said the plan was to protest at Jantar Mantar and “tell the country that for us Gyanesh Kumar is not a legitimate Election Commissioner.” Responding to an FIR registered over the previous day’s sit-in inside the Akashvani Bhawan premises, he added: “I have 45 FIRs against me. My target is that there should be 100 FIRs against me. Every FIR against me is a medal for me.”

After detention, Rahul Gandhi posted that the protests would continue until Kumar resigns. “This is a fight to protect the most sacred thing in this country. There is nothing that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah can do that will stop us,” he wrote. In a video recorded from the police bus, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Gyanesh Kumar “can do all this stuff, but we are going to bring them to justice.”

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Leaders were released after roughly two hours. The action marked the second consecutive day of detentions. On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other MPs had been stopped near the Election Commission headquarters, entered the adjoining Akashvani Bhawan complex, and staged an hours-long sit-in before being detained. Delhi Police later filed an FIR alleging unauthorised entry into the complex.

The opposition has linked its demand for Kumar’s resignation to reports of differences within the Election Commission over aspects of the voter-list revision. Police have cited restrictions on gatherings and the need for prior permission for protests at Jantar Mantar. The INDIA bloc has said it will continue street action until its demands are addressed.

Delhi Police said the leaders were stopped because demonstrations at Jantar Mantar require prior permission, and restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were in force in the area. Officers stated that the detentions were made to clear the road and prevent a breach of barricades after the MPs refused to disperse.