Opposition leaders led a strong protest against the ruling coalition on Monday amid allegations of ‘vote theft’ during the Lok Sabha elections. More than 300 MPs led a march from Parliament House to the Election Commission headquarters in Delhi — with many detained by the police after the agitation was halted. The lawmakers were also seen climbing the barricades at Transport Bhawan and raising slogans against the EC while other MPs sat on the road to register their protest. The chaotic scene also took an alarming turn after two of the Parliamentarians fainted mid-protest.
Dozens of Opposition lawmakers were detained by the Delhi Police on Monday afternoon while protesting against the Election Commission. The lawmakers were stopped midway while heading to the EC headquarters to submit a memorandum on the Bihar Special Intensive Revision issue. Security was tightened near the headquarters of the poll body, with barricades at multiple points along the route. Police personnel were deployed to maintain order and prevent any untoward incidents, a senior police officer said. Additional security vehicles and quick reaction teams have also been stationed near the EC office and surrounding roads to ensure smooth traffic flow and prevent congestion.
According to reports, more than 30 MPs including Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as well as Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut and TMC politician Sagarika Ghose were detained and taken to the Parliament Street Police Station. Officials also noted that the Election Commission had only given permission to 30 MPs to enter its premises but the protesters were in “large numbers”. Meanwhile Congress MP Pramod Tiwari alleged that ‘300 MPs were detained’ during the protest — lambasting the BJP for the ‘unprecedented’ move.
Rahul Gandhi, others detained by police
The protest march led by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi ran into police barricades on Monday afternoon — with many MPs detained for several hours. More than 30 Opposition politicians were taken to the Parliament Street Police Station in a bus after the protest took a chaotic turn.
The police had made elaborate arrangements and placed barricades next to the Transport Bhawan on Parliament street to stop the protesters from moving forward. Many of the lawmakers had subsequently sat on the road to raise slogans and demand a rollback of the SIR. Some of the women lawmakers — including TMC leaders Mahua Moitra and Sushmita Dev as well as Congress MPs Sanjana Jatav and Jothimani — were also seen climbing the barricades at Transport Bhawan. They raised slogans against the EC after being prevented from moving forward by the police.
“The reality is that they cannot talk. The truth is in front of the country. This fight is not political. This fight is to save the Constitution. This fight is for One Man, One Vote. We want a clean, pure voters list,” Gandhi told reporters while being detained.
Mahua Moitra faints
Matters took an alarming turn after two TMC MPs — Mahua Moitra and Mitali Bag fainting amidst the protest. They were tended to by their protesting colleagues with fellow TMC lawmaker Sagarika Ghose posting a video from the tense moment. Moitra can be seen looking distressed in the background of the video as Ghose explained that the Opposition leaders were being taken to an “undisclosed location” by the police.
‘300 MPs detained’ – Congress MP calls BJP ‘dictator’
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari called the ruling BJP a “dictator” on Monday following the the detention of numerous INDIA bloc MPs — from both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha — for protesting against the Election Commission. Fellow party leader Sukhdeo Bhagat also hit out at the ECI — labelling it as an “extension office” of the ruling BJP. He claimed that the invitation for a meeting had been extended because the poll body was ‘caught red-handed’.
“With the emergence of all the facts, the BJP has become a dictator. I don’t recall a time when 300 MPs were detained like this before. This is embarrassing and a dark time for democracy,” Tiwari told ANI.
“You can see the timings of the Election Commission. Their theft, exposed by Rahul Gandhi, proves that they wrote this letter in a state of nervousness,” Bhagat added.
(With inputs from agencies)