Rahul, Priyanka attempt to enter Akashvani Bhawan to reach EC headquarters amid INDIA bloc protest

After being briefly detained, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday attempted to enter the Akashvani Bhawan premises to reach the Election Commission headquarters after police prevented them from proceeding towards the poll panel's office.

Earlier, both of them were detained after they were stopped from marching towards the Election Commission headquarters, demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.

Rahul, Priyanka, TMC's Abhishek Banerjee, and other INDIA bloc leaders climbed atop a police barricade after security personnel blocked their way.

INDIA bloc MPs, including Leaders of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday marched from Parliament House complex towards the Election Commission but were stopped by police on Parliament Street, where they sat on a dharna demanding Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.

The MPs were stopped in front of the NITI Aayog office, on the stretch between NITI Aayog and Akashvani Bhavan leading towards the Election Commission headquarters.

After being prevented from proceeding further, they sat on the road in protest. Opposition MPs carried cutouts depicting Kumar in an RSS uniform and raised slogans, including "BJP hai CEC hai", "Vote chor, gaddi chhod" and "Democracy not for sale".

In a post on X, Gandhi posted, "Gyanesh it's done bro. Time to resign".

TMC leaders Abhishek Banerjee, Derek O Brien, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and CPI (M) leader John Brittas were among those who took part in the march

Heavy security deployment and barricading had been put in place in and around Parliament and the Election Commission headquarters ahead of the march.

Security personnel were stationed in the area much before the MPs began arriving. The MPs gathered at Parliament's Makar Dwar before setting off towards Nirvachan Sadan, the Election Commission headquarters.

Ahead of the march, opposition MPs questioned the security arrangements and stepped up their demand for Kumar's resignation, citing the Supreme Court's observations on changes to Form 6, the statutory application for enrolment as a voter.

Congress MP Imran Masood accused Kumar of eroding public trust in the Election Commission.

"Across the country, the institution that Gyanesh Kumar headed was an institution the entire country trusted, an institution the entire country took pride in and felt proud of. Questions were never raised over its impartiality. One person has broken that trust," he told PTI Videos.

"And an entire nexus is working together. We will question Gyanesh Kumar, and the BJP chief ministers will start giving the answers," he alleged.

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CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said the Supreme Court's observations on Monday had strengthened the opposition's objections to the additional declaration attached to Form 6 during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

"On September 26, there was a press statement by the Commission and it was stated that the entire process related to Form 6 has been ratified by the Supreme Court. Whereas it has been proven that it is an entirely misleading statement," he alleged.

Calling the CEC a "Cheating Election Commissioner", the CPI leader said opposition parties had been agitating against the provisions since 2025 and would intensify their movement.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut questioned the scale of security deployment ahead of the march, saying the MPs intended to proceed peacefully.

"We are MPs. We are members of Parliament. We are also citizens of this country. Why is there a need to deploy such a large force to stop us? We will walk and go. We are unarmed," he said.

Raut claimed that Border Security Force and CISF personnel had been deployed and security outside ministers' residences increased.

Accusing Kumar of misleading the public over the Supreme Court's position on Form 6, he said the CEC had "no moral right" to continue in office.

The Supreme Court on Monday said it had not approved any modified version of Form 6 and would examine the Election Commission's records to ascertain whether changes had been made and who had authorised them. The observations were made while hearing a petition challenging alleged unilateral decisions by Kumar.

In its September 26 statement, the Commission had said the declaration attached to Form 6 for SIR had been upheld by the Supreme Court, while forms prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would be used outside the SIR period.

The march comes amid an opposition campaign over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise and reports of differences within the three-member Commission. The poll body has rejected suggestions of a split and maintained that decisions relating to SIR were taken unanimously.