INDIA Bloc Leaders Detained in Delhi During Protest March to Election Commission

Delhi Police detained roughly 260 people, including 10 Members of Parliament, on Tuesday during a protest march by the INDIA bloc toward the Election Commission of India office. The march started at about 10:30 a.m. from Parliament House, with protesters pushing past police barricades near NITI Aayog.

Akashvani Bhawan Sit-In

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, K.C. Venugopal, Pawan Khera, and Manish Chatrath, alongside fifty to sixty supporters, entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises without permission and staged a sit-in. Mr. Gandhi refused to leave until a delegation of MPs secured an appointment to meet the Election Commission. Police eventually removed and detained the leaders from the building.

Authorities' Response

Authorities stated that no application for the march had been submitted to the Deputy Commissioner of Police for the New Delhi district, meaning no permission was granted. Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were active in the area. Police made repeated announcements and appeals to disperse before taking action.

Context

Prohibitory orders under the law are frequently enforced in high-security districts of the capital to manage large public gatherings and maintain law and order. Political parties routinely organise street demonstrations to press their demands before statutory bodies like the election watchdog.