AAP to join INDIA bloc's anti-CEC protest today after skipping Tuesday march

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which stayed away from the INDIA bloc's protest against the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday, will join the Opposition's demonstration outside the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office on Wednesday.

The protest is scheduled for 1 pm and will be attended by AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj and other party leaders, along with leaders of the Congress, Left parties and other Delhi-based parties. The Opposition is protesting over allegations of "Vote Chori" and the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

Tap for live updates

Bhardwaj announced the AAP's participation in the protest, saying the party had already decided to join street protests on the issue.

"On Wednesday, we will hold a protest outside the Delhi CEO's office against 'vote theft'. We have called upon AAP workers, supporters, and members of the party to participate in large numbers. The AAP had already announced that on the issue of 'Vote Chori' it would join all protests held on the streets," Bhardwaj said in a statement.

The AAP has also extended its support to the nationwide movement against alleged "Vote Chori", with party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

During his three-day visit to Goa, Kejriwal said the entire country was now coming together to demand the CEC's resignation.

Referring to the ECI's SIR drive, Kejriwal alleged that genuine voters were being deleted from electoral rolls while fake voters were being added. He also alleged that elections were being won through this process and said it had made a mockery of democracy.

During a media interaction at the airport, Kejriwal said, "I am in Goa for the next 3 days and have several meetings lined up with different people and party workers. But I want to say that there is a demand at the national level for CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation; the entire country is now coming together for it."

"Over the past few years, it is now coming to light that whatever elections PM Modi has won were won only and only by getting genuine voters' names deleted from the electoral rolls and adding fake voters through SIR. This is absolutely wrong and against democracy. They have, in a way, made a mockery of democracy. Therefore, we support this demand, and Gyanesh Kumar should resign immediately," he asserted.

WHAT HAPPENED DURING TUESDAY'S PROTEST

The AAP's decision to join Wednesday's protest comes a day after INDIA bloc leaders marched towards Nirvachan Sadan, the ECI headquarters, on Tuesday.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other INDIA bloc leaders were detained from the Akashvani Bhavan premises to "maintain law and order" and prevent the situation from deteriorating.

According to the Delhi Police, the leaders had entered the premises "without permission" and staged a sit-in protest. The police said the action was taken after Gandhi "refused to vacate" the area, saying they would not move until a delegation of MPs was allowed to meet ECI officials.

"To maintain law and order and prevent the situation from deteriorating further, Delhi Police had to take action to remove the protesters from the premises. During this action, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and other protesters were removed from the complex and detained as necessary," the police said.

The Delhi Police said it gathered information through social media about a proposed INDIA bloc march from Parliament House to Nirvachan Sadan at around 10:30 am on Tuesday.

The police claimed that no official permission had been sought or granted for the rally.

"No application seeking permission for the proposed march had been submitted to the Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi District. Therefore, no permission was granted for the said proposed march," the police said.

After repeated non-compliance, security forces detained around 260 individuals, including 10 Members of Parliament, the police said. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other leaders were taken to New Police Lines, Kingsway Camp, and were later released.

Congress leaders had earlier staged a sit-in protest at Akashvani Bhavan after leaders of several INDIA bloc parties were stopped during their march towards Nirvachan Sadan.

The protest was part of a broader "Save Democracy" campaign announced by the Opposition, under which leaders have been holding demonstrations and public programmes against the ECI amid the row over the SIR exercise.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, who was among those staging the sit-in, said they would not move until their demands were met.

"Unmoved. Unfazed. We will not budge until our demands are met. We will not rest until our democracy is saved from the Vote Chors," Venugopal posted on X.

While protesting, Rahul Gandhi said the Opposition would continue its protest inside the Akashvani Bhavan premises and said that if Delhi Police was "uncomfortable" with the demonstration, it should provide an alternative venue.