NEW DELHI, OCT 7 (PTI): The opposition offensive against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar picked up further pace on Wednesday as Rahul Gandhi led the INDIA bloc leaders’ street protests for the second consecutive day before being detained again along with many MPs by police amid dramatic scenes of resistance.
The defiant street showdowns by a “united” opposition bloc are likely to continue, with Gandhi claiming that they will not stop till CEC Kumar resigns. While Akashvani Bhawan was the epicentre of Tuesday’s protest where Rahul Gandhi staged an over eight-hour sit-in along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other leaders till their forcible removal, the roundabout near the Shangri La hotel saw a confrontation between police and protesting leaders on Wednesday evening.
Police stopped the protesters midway while they were heading in buses for a surprise sit-in at Jantar Mantar after a lunch meeting at a South Indian vegetarian restaurant on Janpath, leading to the intense face-off.
Priyanka Gandhi and other women leaders lay flat on the road, clutching a copy of the Constitution, till being forcibly removed and taken into police buses amid loud sloganeering by opposition members, demanding the CEC’s resignation.
“We are not going to stop protesting till (Chief Election Commissioner) Gyanesh Kumar resigns. This is a fight to protect the most sacred thing in this country. There is nothing that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah can do that will stop us,” Rahul Gandhi said.
There were scuffles between the police and protesting leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, before they were detained. They were released after around two hours, similar to what occurred on Tuesday.
“This is how they treat members of Parliament who are asking simply to meet the election commissioners. They are beating members of Parliament,” Priyanka Gandhi alleged as force was used to remove her from the spot.
Gandhi and other opposition MPs, who were booked for forcibly entering Akashvani Bhawan on Tuesday, said any number of FIRs against them would not deter them from protesting till Kumar resigns.
