Every FIR my medal, says Rahul Gandhi as opposition marches to Jantar Mantar in protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar
Gandhi said Opposition MPs would march to Jantar Mantar and demanded that they be allowed to reach the designated protest site.
PTC News Desk: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that around 300 Lok Sabha MPs wanted to meet Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Tuesday but were not allowed to do so.
Speaking during the protest, Gandhi said Opposition MPs would march to Jantar Mantar and demanded that they be allowed to reach the designated protest site. The INDIA bloc is protesting over alleged voter deletions during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Security was tightened across Lutyens’ Delhi ahead of the protest, with Delhi Police, RAF and CISF personnel deployed in large numbers. Barricades were also placed at several locations in central Delhi.
As I said yesterday, around 300 MPs from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha wanted to meet the CEC yesterday. He did not meet us. The Delhi Police stopped us, and yesterday they said that we cannot protest there," said Rahul Gandhi.
“So today, our plan is to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar. We want to tell the country that Gyanesh Kumar is not a legitimate CEC. These people are desh-drohi. Gyanesh Kumar has to resign," added Rahul. This came after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hosted Congress MPs and INDIA bloc allies for a meal at Sagar Ratna in Delhi’s Connaught Place on Wednesday.
Gandhi also said he wanted “100 FIRs” to be filed against him, describing each FIR as “a medal”. He claimed that 45 FIRs had already been registered against him.
Gandhi further said that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was “not a legitimate EC for us”. He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Kumar of damaging democratic institutions. He also alleged that they had committed “treason against the country”.
The protest march, led by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, is seeking the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. The protesters are also demanding that the ongoing voter-list revision across states and Union Territories be withdrawn, citing concerns over the electoral roll revision process.
FIR against Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi
The Delhi Police have registered an FIR against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with several other opposition leaders and supporters, for allegedly entering the Akashvani Bhavan premises without permission during a protest against the Election Commission on Wednesday.
According to the police, the FIR was registered after the protesters allegedly entered the premises and refused to leave despite repeated requests to do so.
The protesters had marched from Parliament House towards Nirvachan Sadan, the headquarters of the Election Commission, as part of a protest by INDIA bloc MPs. The march began around 10.30 am. Police said the protesters crossed the first barricade and moved towards a second barricade near NITI Aayog. Officials repeatedly announced that restrictions under Section 163 of the BNSS were in place and asked the protesters to disperse peacefully.
When the protesters allegedly refused to comply, around 260 people, including 10 MPs, were detained and taken to different police stations for legal action.