Over 30 Opposition MPs, Including Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, Detained During March to Election Commission

New Delhi, Aug 2025 – The Delhi Police on Monday detained more than 30 opposition Members of Parliament, including senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, during a protest march to the Election Commission (EC) office. The march was organised against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list, which opposition parties allege is being used to manipulate electoral rolls ahead of upcoming polls.

Those detained also included Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut and Trinamool Congress leader Sagarika Ghosh, a police official confirmed. The MPs were taken to the Parliament Street police station after the EC allowed only 30 MPs to enter its premises, while the protestors arrived in much larger numbers.

According to police, no prior permission had been sought from the EC for the march. The protest was planned to begin from the Makar Dwar of Parliament House, ending at the EC headquarters where leaders intended to submit a memorandum on the SIR issue. “We informed the MPs that only 30 of them could proceed to the EC office. Once we receive the list of names from the EC, we will facilitate their visit,” a senior police official said.

Security was heightened near the EC building, with multiple barricades set up along the protest route. Additional police vehicles and quick reaction teams were deployed to maintain order, manage traffic, and prevent overcrowding.

The opposition’s protest focused on alleged large-scale irregularities in voter rolls, particularly in Bihar, where the ongoing SIR exercise is being conducted. Congress leaders also cited alleged voter list manipulation in Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura constituency during the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections as an example of such practices.

The detentions come amid heightened political tensions over electoral transparency, with opposition parties accusing the ruling party of using administrative mechanisms to influence voter rolls. The EC has yet to respond publicly to the memorandum the opposition sought to deliver.