The Delhi Police have registered an FIR against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several others of the Opposition party over alleged forcible entry into the Akashvani Bhavan premises during an INDIA bloc protest on Tuesday.
The FIR comes in addition to the police detaining 260 people, including 10 MPs, during the protest on Tuesday demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over the alleged irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls.
The FIR was registered after complaints alleging that the Gandhi’s and their supporters, along with the accompanying MPs, were entering the premises without permission.
Earlier on Tuesday, the duo, along with 200 Congress leaders and workers, were detained for two hours after their eight-hour-long sit-in inside the Akashvani Bhavan premises late Tuesday. They were eventually released by the Delhi Police a little after 10 pm. The leaders were taken to the Kingsway Camp police lines after being forcibly removed from the protest site.
According to officials, AAP has announced that it will join the INDIA bloc’s protest outside the CEO’s office in Delhi at 1 pm on Wednesday.
In a statement, AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj said, “On Wednesday, we will hold a protest outside the Delhi CEO’s office against ‘vote chori’. 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.”
The Gandhi-led Congress protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar demands his immediate removal over ‘vote chori’ charges.
The Delhi Police claimed the INDIA bloc parties had planned to march from Parliament House to the Election Commission office. No application seeking permission for the march was submitted to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, and no permission was granted by the police either.
Responding to the leaders’ move to enter the premises, the Election Commission claimed that no political party had sought an appointment through its authorised representatives before 4 pm on Tuesday. The panel, however, said it was informed by the Delhi Police that a delegation of 24 MPs led by Rahul Gandhi wanted to meet the commission and submit a memorandum. The request did not follow the procedures for meetings with political parties.