Pics: Rahul, Priyanka dragged, detained twice in 2 days as anti-CEC stir intensifies

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were detained for the second time in two days on Wednesday as the Opposition’s protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar showed no signs of ebbing. The siblings were stopped near the Shangri-La hotel while heading towards Jantar Mantar. Priyanka resisted as police moved to detain her, eventually lying on the ground, clutching the Constitution to her chest, before being carried into a police van.

Congress alleged she was pushed and manhandled. But the pictures told the story more starkly: for the second day in a row, both Rahul and Priyanka were physically carried by police to the waiting vans. Moments before she was put inside, Priyanka was pictured smiling, her arms stretched wide. The dramatic scenes came a day after Rahul had climbed police barricades, waved the Tricolour and forced his way into Akashvani Bhawan when Delhi Police stopped the Opposition's march to the Election Commission. He and Priyanka then joined an eight-hour sit-in inside the premises before police cleared the protest and detained around 250 people, including several MPs.

The detainees were taken to New Police Lines at Kingsway Camp and released later that night. On Wednesday, the Opposition regrouped after a lunch hosted by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and again set out for Jantar Mantar. Buses carrying MPs were stopped near Ashoka Road, about a kilometre from the protest venue, amid heavy security. Rahul said the Opposition would continue fighting what it calls “vote chori” and alleged that around 300 MPs had sought a meeting with the Election Commission but were not given one. Later, responding to an FIR over Tuesday's protest, Rahul said he had faced 45 FIRs and was ready for 100, calling every FIR “a medal on my chest.”

WHAT HAPPENED: A VISUAL TIMELINETUESDAY - THE BARRICADESMorning | March blockedRahul Gandhi and Opposition MPs began marching towards the Election Commission. Police barricades stopped them roughly 300 metres from the EC office. Rahul climbs the barricadeAs the standoff intensified, Rahul climbed over the police barricades and waved the Tricolour, turning the blocked march into a dramatic confrontation. Rahul enters Akashvani BhawanRahul and several Opposition leaders moved into the Akashvani Bhawan premises after the route to the EC was blocked. The protest moves insideRahul sat down under a tree and began a sit-in beneath a banyan tree inside the campus at around 12.30 pm.

Priyanka Gandhi and other Opposition leaders joined him. More than 8 hours laterThe standoff continued through the day before police moved to clear the premises. Night falls: Mass detentionRahul, Priyanka and several MPs were detained and taken to New Police Lines at Kingsway Camp. They were released around 10 pm. WEDNESDAY -- THE SECOND SHOWDOWNAfter lunch | Opposition regroupsFollowing a lunch hosted by Mallikarjun Kharge, INDIA bloc MPs boarded buses for Jantar Mantar. Tricolours back on the busesCongress MPs, including Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Deepender Hooda and Imran Pratapgarhi, were seen on top of buses carrying the Tricolour as the procession moved through central Delhi. Buses stopped againThe convoy was halted near Ashoka Road, close to the Shangri-La, with multilayered security blocking the route to Jantar Mantar. Asked about the FIR registered over Tuesday's protest, Rahul said he had faced 45 FIRs and wanted 100, adding that every FIR was “a medal on my chest”.

Rahul and Priyanka detained againThe Gandhi siblings were once again taken into custody -- two consecutive days, two confrontations with the police. Priyanka carried into police bus Image has been enhanced using AI.Visuals showed Priyanka being forcibly taken into a police bus, as Congress alleged that she was pushed and manhandled. Both were released after around two hours in detention. In just 48 hours, protests in the heart of the capital have turned the Opposition’s campaign against the Election Commission into a series of increasingly dramatic street confrontations.- Ends