India Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi Detained During Election Protest

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was detained by police officials on Wednesday as opposition lawmakers marched toward New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to protest over irregularities in the revision of voter lists. 

Several other opposition lawmakers were also detained along with Rahul Gandhi as they headed toward Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site in the capital, to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. 

A live feed on the YouTube channel of the Congress party showed police taking Gandhi and other protesters into a vehicle. 

The detention came a day after Gandhi and other opposition leaders were also detained following a protest near the Election Commission’s office. Reuters reported that Wednesday’s action was the third detention of Gandhi and several lawmakers in two days.

Opposition Steps Up Campaign Against Voter-List Revision

The protests centre on the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, a nationwide exercise that began in Bihar and has since expanded to other parts of India.

Opposition parties have accused the Election Commission of manipulating voter registrations in a way they say could benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. 

However, the Election Commission and the BJP reject the allegations by saying the revision is intended to remove the duplicate and ineligible entries while ensuring eligible voters remain registered. 

More than 130 million names have been removed from voter lists. Millions have appealed the removals. 

Opposition parties are demanding that the revision be halted and that voters they believe were wrongly removed from the rolls be restored.

The demonstrations have continued for several days, with opposition parties, student groups and the youth-led “Cockroach” movement joining the campaign against the voter-list revision. Reuters reported that opposition groups have been holding almost daily protests demanding Kumar’s resignation.

Security around Kumar was also strengthened on Thursday following fresh threat inputs. The Delhi Police deployed additional personnel outside his residence, where he already has Z-plus security cover.

The protests add to political pressure on the Modi government, although the election authorities and the ruling BJP continue to reject the opposition’s allegations of wrongdoing.

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