Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were among Opposition MPs who were detained on Wednesday while heading to Jantar Mantar for a sit-in protest, seeking the ouster of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged "vote theft".
Earlier in the day, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge hosted a lunch for INDIA bloc MPs at a restaurant in New Delhi. During the lunch, it was decided to proceed to Jantar Mantar to restart the protest.
INDIA bloc MPs were headed to Jantar Mantar in buses when they were stopped by police at the roundabout near Shangri-La hotel in central Delhi from proceeding further. Following this, they staged a sit-in at the roundabout.
Delhi Police and other security personnel gathered around Rahul Gandhi in large numbers, carrying him on their shoulders, forcibly removing him and putting him inside a police bus.
Then, several women police personnel forcibly carried away Priyanka Gandhi and other women leaders, who were seen lying on the road as they carried a copy of the Constitution.
Many other Congress leaders, including Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Udai Bhanu Chib, alighted atop the bus carrying Rahul Gandhi, while Mumtaz Patel was seen sitting on its bonnet.
An FIR was registered against Rahul and Priyanka on Wednesday for entering the Akashvani Bhawan premises for a protest without permission on Tuesday. They were heading to the Election Commission's office Nirvachan Sadan, when they were stopped by police and detained.
However, they later alighted the police bus and entered the nearby Akshvani Bhawan for a sit-in protest, which continued for eight hours until they were detained again.
