New Delhi, October 7, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several other INDIA bloc leaders were released shortly after 8 p.m. on Wednesday, hours after they were detained by Delhi Police during a protest march towards Jantar Mantar demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The Opposition leaders were travelling in buses when police stopped them near the Shangri-La hotel in central Delhi and prevented them from proceeding towards the designated protest site. The leaders then staged a sit-in at a nearby roundabout before police detained them and took them to separate locations. Rahul Gandhi was taken to the Barakhamba Road police station, while Priyanka Gandhi and several other leaders were taken to Chhatrasal Stadium.
The protest was part of the Opposition’s continuing campaign against the Election Commission over alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls. The INDIA bloc has been demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
High drama unfolded during the detention as Priyanka Gandhi lay on the road along with several women leaders, holding a copy of the Constitution. A large number of security personnel were deployed at the spot.
Police personnel first removed Rahul Gandhi from the area and placed him inside a police bus, carrying him on their shoulders amid resistance from protesters. Congress leaders Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Udai Bhanu Chib climbed onto the bus, while Mumtaz Patel sat on its bonnet.
A large contingent of women police personnel later removed Priyanka Gandhi and other women protesters from the road and took them away in buses.
Priyanka Gandhi alleged that the protesters were treated improperly and claimed that security personnel scratched and pushed protesting MPs. Her allegations were made during the confrontation and have not been independently established.
Congress MP Imran Masood alleged that police resorted to a lathi charge, while party MP Renuka Chowdhury said the Opposition would continue to raise its voice until it received answers.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot questioned the detention of MPs and asked whether staging a sit-in or march in a public place amounted to an offence.
The protest came a day after Rahul Gandhi staged a more than nine-hour sit-in near Akashvani Bhavan. An FIR was subsequently registered in connection with the protest.
Before Wednesday’s protest, Gandhi referred to the FIR and said he already had 45 cases against him, adding that his “goal is to have 100 FIRs”.
The latest detention came amid heightened tensions between the Opposition and the Election Commission over the electoral-roll revision issue, with Opposition parties continuing to demand accountability from the poll body.
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