NEW DELHI — Bringing an eight-hour high-stakes standoff in central Delhi to an end, the Delhi Police on Tuesday evening detained Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from inside the Akashvani Bhawan premises.
The day-long drama culminated when security personnel moved into the state broadcaster’s complex to clear the sit-in and detained the Gandhi siblings alongside several party workers gathered outside.
The confrontation began earlier in the day when hundreds of INDIA bloc Members of Parliament launched a march from Parliament toward Nirvachan Sadan, the headquarters of the Election Commission of India, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral roll irregularities. After police barricaded the route and began intercepting lawmakers, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi shifted tactics. Bypassing the immediate custody perimeter, they entered the reception gates of Akashvani Bhawan and set up an impromptu sit-in under a tree.
Joined by senior leaders and party workers, the siblings refused to budge throughout the afternoon, demanding that the authorities either allow their delegation to submit their representation at the Election Commission or allocate an alternative, sanctioned demonstration site in central Delhi. The standoff finally drew to a close late Tuesday when police cleared the premises and escorted the leaders into waiting detention buses.
