Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were among the Opposition members detained by the Delhi Police on Monday while they were marching to the Election Commission’s office to protest against the contentious revision of voter rolls in Bihar.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)’s Sanjay Raut and Trinamool Congress’ Sagarika Ghose were also among the leaders who were detained, ANI reported.
All the detained members of Parliament were released around two hours later.
New Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Devesh Kumar Mahla claimed that the Election Commission had issued a letter stating that 30 MPs could visit them, ANI reported.
However, over 200 MPs came marching from Parliament, Mahla added. “We stopped them for their security and to prevent any law and order situation,” he said. “Later, they were detained. Some MPs also tried jumping the barricade. They have also been detained.”
Videos from the protest showed Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav jumping over a barricade as police officers attempted to stop the march.
After the police action, Rahul Gandhi told reporters that the “truth is in front of the country.”
“This fight is not political,” he said. “This fight is to save the Constitution. This fight is for One Man, One Vote. We want a clean, pure voters list.”
The special intensive revision of the electoral rolls in Bihar was announced by the Election Commission in June. As part of the exercise, persons whose names were not on the 2003 voter list needed to submit proof of eligibility to vote.
The draft roll was published on August 1, ahead of the Bihar polls expected to take place in October or November. It showed that more than 65 lakh names had been deleted from the list.
The list will be revised by September after the Election Commission assesses objections and claims about the exclusion and inclusion of voters in the draft roll.
The Opposition parties have been arguing that the exercise risked disenfranchising voters as they may not be able to produce the necessary documents.
