Opposition Protest March: Opposition’s anti-SIR-CEC march turns into INDIA bloc-government face-off | India News
NEW DELHI: The opposition’s protest march to Election Commission headquarters on the SIR-CEC issue Tuesday turned into a high-octane confrontation between Modi govt and INDIA bloc, leading to an eight-hour dharna by Rahul Gandhi and his colleagues at Akashvani Bhavan and ending with their detention in late-evening police action.Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Congress MPs and functionaries forced their way onto the Akashvani premises, after the march by a large contingent of INDIA bloc-BJD MPs was stopped midway by police. The MPs, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Akhilesh Yadav, Sanjay Raut, Supriya Sule and Abhishek Banerjee, started from Parliament for the EC office amid slogans targeting PM Narendra Modi, CEC Gyanesh Kumar and BJP. But the group was stopped just metres away by heavy police deployment and barricades.The marchers, aided by Congress and SP workers, sat on a dharna on the road outside Akashvani Bhavan. Rahul climbed on top of a police barricade, waving the Tricolour. After an hour, they were detained and taken away in buses.But as they were being led away, Rahul, Priyanka, MPs KC Venugopal, Deepender Hooda, Charanjit Channi, Praniti Shinde, Raja Warring, Pawan Khera and others pushed their way into the Akashvani lawns and sat under a tree. Pleas by cops to vacate the premises went unheeded, prolonging the controversy BJP perh-aps believed would end with the whisking away of MPs.Congress sources claimed govt approached through police and offered permission for five-seven members to meet the CEC, but the party brass insisted on a larger contingent comprising all alliance partners. Rahul is also said to have sought an alternative place for the dharna, like Rajghat.
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With govt unwilling, cops swooped down on the protesters. They were said to have been taken to Kingsway camp.Those present at the march included Rajeev Shukla, Kumari Selja, Sandosh Kumar, Kalyan Banerjee, Mahua Moitra, Manickam Tagore, Jairam Ramesh, Iqra Hasan, Harendra Malik, Karamvir Boudh, Manas Mangaraj, Rajaram Singh, Sudama Singh, Sasmit Patra, Dharmendra Yadav and Derek O’Brien.Rahul said Modi, home minister Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had hijacked the country, and would face action for “treason”.
