Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were released after being detained for around two hours. Party MPs Pawan Khera, KC Venugopal and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring were also detained. New Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Sharma was present at the spot as police moved in to clear the protesters.
They were taken to Kingsway Camp in Delhi from Akashvani Bhawan after police stopped their march towards the Election Commission earlier in the day.
The Congress leaders had begun their sit-in after several INDIA bloc leaders were stopped while marching towards Nirvachan Sadan, the headquarters of the Election Commission of India (ECI). Meanwhile, the Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) Fact Check unit rejected social media claims that the Union Home Ministry had approached Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to end the protest at Akashvani Bhawan. Some social media pages had claimed that the Ministry had reached out to the Congress leaders in an attempt to resolve the standoff.
The protest is part of the Opposition’s wider “Save Democracy” campaign over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, who was among those taking part in the dharna, had earlier said the protesters would not leave until their demands were addressed. Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of “hijacking” the country and undermining the electoral process. The posts further claimed that the Congress leaders had told officials they would continue the dharna until they were allowed to meet the Election Commissioners.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Police detained several Youth Congress and NSUI leaders outside Akashvani Bhawan, including Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib.
