Opposition vs Gyanesh Kumar: Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi forcibly removed, detained during INDIA bloc protest in Delhi
Congress leaders, including Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, were forcibly removed by police while protesting against Election Commission irregularities. Priyanka claimed mistreatment by police, calling it an attack on democracy. The MPs were detained after attempting to stage a sit-in near Jantar Mantar.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi, who is an MP from Kerala's Wayanad, were both removed by force on Wednesday by officials of the Delhi Police and were also detained after they, along with other leaders, staged a sit-in protest at the roundabout near central Delhi's Shangri-La hotel after they were stopped from reaching Jantar Mantar. The INDIA bloc MPs are protesting against the alleged irregularities in the Election Commission's functioning, and are also demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Priyanka Gandhi was also filmed lying on the road, with a copy of the Constitution in her hands. Once the MPs were not allowed to proceed towards Jantar Mantar, they decided to sit in at the roundabout.
Following this, security personnel gathered in the area in large numbers and forcibly removed Rahul Gandhi and put him inside a police bus. He was put inside the bus by policemen who carried him on their shoulders as he refused to cooperate. Congress leaders like Raja Warring and Amarinder Singh, and Uday Bhanu climbed on top of the bus, as per a PTI report. Mumtaz Patel sat on its bonnet. After Rahul, the attention shifted to Priyanka Gandhi, and a large possee of female police officials started removing her and other female Opposition leaders who were lying on the road.
They were also forcibly put inside a bus and taken away from the site.' Police personnel scratched me all over': Priyanka GandhiPriyanka Gandhi said, according to the Congress, “I will not move from here. This is how they treat MPs who simply want to meet the Election Commission. This is how they beat up MPs. Women police personnel have scratched me all over and thrown us to the ground. Let them call their forces back,” reported ANI.Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi accused the Centre of “hooliganism” while Pawan Khera said "It is our democratic right; we are fighting for this right.
Article 19 grants us permission to protest in this manner, and Jantar Mantar is a designated spot; if we cannot stage a protest here, then where else can we do it?" RJD MP Manoj Kumar, who was a part of the protest alleged that the police was using force. Jha told reporters, "This is a launch. Not just Gyanesh Kumar; this Government is going out now. They are launching a lathi charge on the soul of India, on the democracy of India.
Shame on such people." Earlier in the afternoon, INDIA bloc MPs attended a meeting convened by Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss the issue concerning the Chief Election Commissioner, from where they headed towards the Jantar Mantar protest site. With agency inputs