New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi climbed atop a police barricade and waved the Tricolour on Tuesday as INDIA bloc MPs were stopped while marching from Parliament towards the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The Opposition march was organised over allegations concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and changes related to Form 6, the application used for voter enrolment.

The march began from Parliament’s Makar Dwar at around 11 am and was stopped by security personnel near the NITI Aayog office, on the stretch leading towards Akashvani Bhawan and the Election Commission headquarters.

When the protesters were prevented from proceeding further, Gandhi climbed the barricade and waved the national flag. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee were also among those seen attempting to move beyond the barricades.

INDIA bloc demands Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation

The Opposition parties have been demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls.

Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly alleged that changes associated with Form 6 and the SIR exercise could affect the voting rights of citizens. In a post on X on Tuesday, he wrote, “Gyanesh, it’s done bro. Time to resign.”

The INDIA bloc has also questioned the Election Commission’s handling of the voter-roll revision process and sought greater transparency over decisions taken during the exercise.

The protest follows a Supreme Court hearing in which the court examined issues concerning Form 6 and the additional declaration used during the SIR exercise. The court said it had not approved any modified version of the form and indicated that it would examine the Election Commission’s records concerning the changes.

The Opposition has cited these developments while intensifying its campaign against the CEC.

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi attempt to move ahead

After the march was halted, opposition MPs sat on the road and staged a dharna.

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra later attempted to enter the Akashvani Bhawan premises to move closer to the Election Commission headquarters but were stopped by security personnel.

The two leaders subsequently staged a sit-in at a building adjacent to the ECI office.

Several other INDIA bloc leaders and MPs participated in the demonstration, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC leaders Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, CPI(M) leader John Brittas and NCP-SP leader Supriya Sule.

The protesters raised slogans against the Election Commission and carried placards demanding Kumar’s resignation. Some protesters also carried cutouts depicting the CEC in an RSS uniform.

Opposition MPs detained during protest

The confrontation with security personnel eventually led to the detention of several opposition leaders.

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were among those detained by Delhi Police, according to reports. Other opposition MPs and leaders were also taken into custody as authorities moved to clear the protest area.

Reports said around 140 opposition MPs participated in the street protest, while Rahul Gandhi separately claimed that more than 300 opposition MPs had marched from Parliament towards the Election Commission.

The differing figures reflect different descriptions of participation at various stages of the protest.

The heavy security deployment had been put in place around Parliament and the Election Commission headquarters before the march began.

Kharge accuses government of undermining voting rights

Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of undermining citizens’ voting rights and alleged that the Election Commission was functioning under the government’s direction.

Kharge said the Opposition was fighting against what he described as an attempt to take away citizens’ rights, including the universal adult franchise secured after Independence.

His comments were made in the context of the Opposition’s broader campaign against the SIR exercise and its allegations concerning the electoral roll revision process.

Congress MPs Rajeev Shukla and Syed Nasir Hussain also demanded Kumar’s resignation.

The allegations made by Opposition leaders are political claims and have not been established as findings against the Election Commission.

Election Commission rejects allegations

The Election Commission has rejected suggestions that its decisions on the SIR exercise were politically motivated or that there is a split within the three-member poll panel.

The Commission has maintained that decisions relating to the electoral-roll revision were taken unanimously and within the legal framework.

It has also defended the voter-roll revision exercise as an effort to identify and address issues such as duplicate, ineligible or otherwise improper entries.

The dispute over Form 6 has become one of the central issues in the Opposition’s latest campaign.

The Election Commission had earlier said the declaration attached to Form 6 for the SIR exercise had been upheld by the Supreme Court, while the forms prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would continue to apply outside the SIR period.

Supreme Court observations add to political row

The protest comes a day after the Supreme Court made observations concerning Form 6 during the hearing of a petition challenging alleged unilateral changes to the voter-enrolment process.

The court clarified that it had not approved a modified version of Form 6 and said it would examine records to establish what changes had been made and who had authorised them.

The Opposition has seized on the observations to strengthen its demand for accountability from the Election Commission.

The poll panel, however, maintains that its voter-roll revision process is aimed at ensuring accurate electoral rolls and has rejected accusations that it is acting in favour of any political party.

Security tightened in central Delhi

Security personnel were deployed in large numbers around Parliament, NITI Aayog, Akashvani Bhawan and the Election Commission headquarters ahead of the march.

Barricades were installed along the route to prevent the protesters from reaching Nirvachan Sadan.

The INDIA bloc MPs were stopped near the NITI Aayog office, where the protest subsequently turned into a sit-in.

The confrontation created disruption in central Delhi as the Opposition leaders remained at the site and security personnel maintained the barricaded zone.

The protest was part of a wider series of demonstrations by Opposition parties and other groups over the electoral-roll revision process.

Opposition plans to intensify campaign

The INDIA bloc’s latest protest signals that the dispute over electoral rolls and the SIR exercise is likely to remain a major political issue.

Opposition parties have continued to demand greater transparency from the Election Commission and the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar.

The BJP and the Election Commission have rejected the Opposition’s allegations, with the poll panel maintaining that its actions are aimed at maintaining accurate electoral rolls.

For now, the political confrontation has moved beyond Parliament and into the streets of central Delhi, with the INDIA bloc using the march to publicly press its demands.

Rahul Gandhi’s climb onto the barricade and his waving of the Tricolour became the defining visual of Tuesday’s protest, while the subsequent detention of opposition leaders further escalated the confrontation between the protesters and security personnel.

The dispute over the electoral-roll revision process is expected to continue through political and legal channels, with the Supreme Court’s examination of the Form 6 issue adding another important dimension to the controversy.