New Delhi Police detained Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several other opposition figures during their protest march to the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) office. The protest was held to highlight allegations of “voter fraud” and other electoral irregularities. Among those detained were Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
As police were shifting him, Rahul Gandhi was quoted by NDTV as saying, “This fight is not political… it is to save the Constitution. The fight is for ‘one person, one vote.'” Joint Commissioner of Police Deepak Purohit confirmed the detentions, stating that the leaders had been taken to a nearby police station. He explained that the protest lacked the necessary permission and that only 30 MPs were authorized to meet with the ECI.
The march was organized by the INDIA alliance, led by the Indian National Congress (INC), and was prompted by accusations of significant electoral manipulation. In a democracy with a history of rarely questioning election credibility, these allegations could pose a challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently facing one of the most difficult periods of his 11-year tenure.
Approximately 300 opposition leaders marched from parliament but were stopped by police barricades. They chanted slogans against the ECI and Modi’s government, claiming that elections were being “stolen.” After attempting to push through the barricades, they were detained and transported away in buses.
Gandhi and the Congress party allege that voter lists in states where they lost were manipulated, with names being deleted or duplicated to favor Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The opposition has also criticized the ECI’s decision to revise the voter list in the state of Bihar just before upcoming state elections, claiming it is an attempt to disenfranchise large numbers of poor voters. The BJP and the ECI have both rejected these accusations.
The Election Commission has stated that any changes to voter lists are shared with political parties and that all complaints are thoroughly investigated. It defended the need to revise voter lists to remove the names of deceased voters or those who have moved.
The BJP, for its part, accused the opposition of trying to create a “state of anarchy” by casting doubt on the electoral process. “They are in a state of bankruptcy because of their continuous losses,” federal minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters on Monday.
