Published Oct 06, 2026 | 7:32 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 06, 2026 | 8:48 PM
With senior Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi, KC Venugopal and Pawan Khera beside him, Rahul continued his sit-in protest.
Synopsis: Blocked from reaching the Election Commission, INDIA bloc leaders turned their protest into a sit-in at Akashvani Bhawan in New Delhi. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Opposition leaders stayed put, demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and challenging the Election Commission’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Chaotic scenes unfolded at New Delhi’s Akashvani Bhawan, just metres from the Election Commission of India headquarters, where Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders were staging a sit-in after police prevented their protest march to the ECI on Tuesday, October 6.
After hours of protest, Delhi Police detained Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal and Pawan Khera, and forcibly removed them from the premises, triggering a commotion. Police surrounded Akashvani Bhawan late in the evening as Congress workers resisted efforts to take Rahul Gandhi and other leaders into custody.
After a brief confrontation between Congress workers and police personnel, Gandhi and the other leaders were bundled into a police bus and taken away from Akashvani Bhawan. It was not immediately clear where they had been taken.
Do you think arresting us will silence us?
We are the Congress, the party of Gandhi.
Our Satyagrah will never fail. https://t.co/vzKjpzbv7b
— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) October 6, 2026
The protest march from the Parliament to the ECI office had been announced as part of the Opposition’s nationwide campaign against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over irregularities in the ECI’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise that led to the deletion of 13 crore voters from the electoral rolls.
The MPs were prevented from proceeding with the march, with some of them detained and dragged into police vehicles while others were stopped using barricades. In a show of resilience, Rahul Gandhi was seen climbing on top of a barricade amid cheers from his supporters. He then slipped into the Akashvani Bhawan premises where he began the sit-in protest demanding a meeting with the CEC and the Election Commissioners.
On the morning of October 6, the INDIA bloc leaders began a march to the Election Commission headquarters with Rahul Gandhi holding the “Gyanesh, it’s done, bro” sign.
In a show of resilience, Rahul Gandhi was seen climbing on top of a barricade amid cheers from his supporters.
A few hours later, with police barricading their way and Rahul and Priyanka ending up in the Akashvani Bhawan premises, just a few minutes away from their targeted destination, the protest had solidified.
“We are very comfortable here. We’ve even put down mattresses here. There are toilets, and we’re getting tea as well. We’ll sit here for as long as we want,” the Leader of Opposition told media persons, signalling that he is ready for the long fight.
With senior Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi, KC Venugopal and Pawan Khera beside him, Rahul continued his sit-in protest just a loudspeaker shout away from the Election Commission’s headquarters, after climbing atop barricades with the national flag in the afternoon.
“What has been done to my India is treason. Be it (PM) Narendra Modi, (Home Minister) Amit Shah, Gyanesh Kumar, or (RSS Chief) Mohan Bhagwat – no one will be able to escape,” Rahul had posted earlier.
मेरे भारत के साथ जो किया गया है, वो देशद्रोह है।
चाहे वो नरेंद्र मोदी हो, अमित शाह हो, ज्ञानेश कुमार हो या मोहन भागवत हो – कोई बच कर नहीं भाग पाएगा। https://t.co/G1F4EF447t
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 6, 2026
Some Congress MPs were seen confronting the Delhi Police personnel outside the Akashvani Bhawan after they were prevented from entering the premises and joining Rahul Gandhi for the sit-in. Some of them, including MPs from Kerala, Shafi Parambil and Anto Antony, were seen being dragged by the police in an attempt to detain and remove them from the premises.
Also Read: Indira Gandhi, Narendra Modi and the march of folly: The same mistake, fifty years apart
Speaking to the media from inside the Akashvani Bhawan premises, Rahul Gandhi asked why the CEC is refusing to meet the elected representatives. He said around 300 Opposition MPs have come to meet CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
“Around 300 MPs wanted to meet CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the two Election Commissioners, but we have been stopped here by the police. We are elected representatives, but we don’t know why we have been stopped here. We can’t understand the problem. The Election Commission is merely 50 metres away. 300 Opposition MPs want to meet Gyanesh Kumar, but he is scared,” Gandhi told reporters.
Speaking to the media from inside the Akashvani Bhawan premises, Rahul Gandhi asked why the CEC is refusing to meet the elected representatives.
“I don’t know what is happening in this country. If the ECI refuses to meet elected representatives, then what is the meaning of democracy?” Gandhi asked.
He stressed that the CEC will have to meet the MPs.
“MPs have been disrespected. We just want to meet the CEC and tell him that you have committed ‘vote chori’,” Rahul Gandhi said.
“MPs will meet the Election Commissioners. They will have to meet us,” he added.
When asked to respond to the BJP’s claims regarding the protest, Gandhi told reporters, “I have no interest in what the BJP is saying. I’m standing here to save democracy. Other MPs are also trying the same.”
Rahul came down heavily on the central government and the CEC, saying Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Gyanesh Kumar have together “destroyed” democracy.
“Youth of our country have understood this. Even the police officers were also telling me the same thing. They have done vote chori and hijacked the elections,” he said.
Also Read: A journalist’s investigation and how a 2006 suicide case is back to haunt Gyanesh Kumar
The protesting MPs were allegedly assaulted by the Delhi Police and RAF (Rapid Action Force) personnel.
CPI(M) MP AA Rahim claimed he was dragged and assaulted inside the police vehicle after being detained. Along with him, three other MPs, including John Brittas, were also detained. Rahim alleged that a female protester was also assaulted by the police.
Visuals from the protest site showed the police using force against the protesting MPs.
Speaking to reporters, Congress MP Jothimani said, “We will face lathis, bullets, but we will ensure that this Election Commissioner goes…We want the CEC Gyanesh Kumar to go. He has destroyed the electoral process and democracy.”
#WATCH | During INDIA bloc protest, Congress MP Jothimani says, “We will face lathis, bullets, but we will ensure that this Election Commissioner goes…We want the CEC Gynaesh Kumar to go. He has destroyed the electoral process and democracy.” https://t.co/N8svKzhKuG
— ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2026
The Opposition’s protest comes a day after the Supreme Court stated that it had never approved changes made to Form 6 by the ECI. The Court announced it would examine EC records to determine who authorised the alterations.
The SC order came amid intense scrutiny of the functioning of the ECI, following an investigative report by the Indian Express, which claimed that the CEC had taken decisions regarding the SIR without informing or despite multiple objections raised by the other two Election Commissioners.
(Compiled by Fayisa CA.)
