'Gyanesh, it's done bro': High drama at EC HQ march as Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka breach police cordon

High drama unfolded during the INDIA bloc's march from Parliament Street to the Election Commission of India headquarters on Tuesday, as Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with some other opposition MPs, entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises after police stopped the protest march.

Several opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress MPs Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O'Brien, were detained after police halted the march.

Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other MPs were stopped by security personnel on Parliament Street, near the Akashvani Bhawan and NITI Aayog offices, as they marched towards the Election Commission demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.

After being stopped, the opposition MPs sat on the road and staged a protest. Soon, Rahul Gandhi and TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee climbed onto a police barricade, while Priyanka Gandhi was taken to a waiting bus for detention. She was soon seen getting off the bus and joining her brother at the Akashvani Bhawan gate. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Congress MP Deepender Hooda then entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises through the reception gate despite resistance from the police. They were later seen sitting under a tree inside the premises.

Police personnel asked the protesting leaders to vacate the premises, but the Gandhi siblings refused to leave, insisting that they wanted to proceed to the Election Commission office. Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Sharma reached the spot with a large contingent of police personnel in an attempt to evict the protesting opposition MPs from the premises.

During the march, opposition MPs carried cutouts depicting Kumar in an RSS uniform and raised slogans including “BJP hi CEC hai”, “Vote chor, gaddi chhod” and “Democracy not for sale”.

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said, “Gyanesh it's done bro. Time to resign.”

Heavy security deployment and barricading were put in place around Parliament and the Election Commission headquarters ahead of the protest. Security personnel were stationed in the area well before the MPs began arriving. The opposition MPs had gathered at Parliament's Makar Dwar before setting off towards Nirvachan Sadan, the Election Commission headquarters. Ahead of the march, they questioned the security arrangements and renewed their demand for Kumar's resignation, citing the Supreme Court's observations on changes to Form 6, the statutory application for enrolment as a voter.

Congress MP Imran Masood accused Kumar of eroding public trust in the Election Commission. “Across the country, the institution that Gyanesh Kumar headed was an institution the entire country trusted, an institution the entire country took pride in. Questions were never raised over its impartiality. One person has broken that trust,” he told PTI.

“And an entire nexus is working together. We will question Gyanesh Kumar, and the BJP chief ministers will start giving the answers,” he alleged.

CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said the Supreme Court's observations on Monday had strengthened the opposition's objections to the additional declaration attached to Form 6 during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

“On September 26, there was a press statement by the Commission and it was stated that the entire process related to Form 6 has been ratified by the Supreme Court. Whereas it has been proven that it is an entirely misleading statement,” he alleged.

Calling Kumar a “Cheating Election Commissioner”, the CPI leader said opposition parties had been protesting against the provisions since 2025 and would intensify their agitation.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut also questioned the heavy security deployment, saying the MPs intended to march peacefully. “We are MPs. We are members of Parliament. We are also citizens of this country. Why is there a need to deploy such a large force to stop us? We will walk and go. We are unarmed,” he said.

The Supreme Court on Monday said it had not approved any modified version of Form 6 and would examine the Election Commission's records to ascertain whether changes had been made and who had authorised them. The observations came while the court was hearing a petition challenging alleged unilateral decisions by Kumar.

In its September 26 statement, the Election Commission had said the declaration attached to Form 6 for the SIR exercise had been upheld by the Supreme Court. It had also said that forms prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would be used outside the SIR period.

The latest protest is part of the opposition's campaign against alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise and reports of differences within the three-member Election Commission. The poll body has rejected suggestions of a split and maintained that decisions relating to the SIR were taken unanimously.