Police detain opposition leaders in Delhi demanding election commission chief's resignation

Many opposition lawmakers, including Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party, were stopped midway as they marched towards the Election Commission headquarters. Police in Delhi detained several opposition lawmakers as they attempted to march demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a controversial voter roll revision.

Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka, and other MPs were forced into a police bus. They were released shortly after and resumed their march, beginning a sit-in near the Election Commission headquarters. This incident marks the latest escalation in a growing dispute over a nationwide revision of voter rolls.

Opposition parties accuse Gyanesh Kumar of overseeing a process that could benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an allegation that both the BJP and the Election Commission have rejected.

Security officials blocked roads from India's parliament to the Election Commission headquarters. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Manjeet Sheoran stated, "Some of the MPs tried to take some other roads to the Election Commission building. We have officers stationed at multiple points, from where the protesters were picked up in buses and taken to different police stations." The police did not disclose how many lawmakers had been detained, but the opposition claimed that 237 MPs from various parties participated in the march.

Tuesday's protest came just four days after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a Gen Z-backed online satirical movement, organized demonstrations in Mumbai and Delhi, also demanding the CEC's resignation. The group has described these demonstrations as the beginning of a nationwide campaign and has called for another round of protests on 10 October.