Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was released from the Barakhamba Road Police Station on Wednesday after being detained during an Opposition protest near Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
Gandhi, along with his sister and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several other Opposition leaders, was detained while they were attempting to proceed towards Jantar Mantar for a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The Opposition has been demanding Kumar's resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The Election Commission and the BJP have denied allegations of wrongdoing.
The protest saw a heavy deployment of police personnel as Opposition MPs were stopped from proceeding towards the designated protest site. Gandhi was taken to the Barakhamba Road Police Station, while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was taken to the Chhatrasal Stadium Police Station.
Visuals from the protest showed police personnel carrying Gandhi towards a waiting bus after he and other leaders staged a sit-in when they were stopped from moving ahead. Several Opposition MPs were also detained during the confrontation.
While being taken away, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was seen holding a copy of the Constitution and questioning its significance, saying that the Congress would continue its fight for the Constitution.
The detention came a day after Gandhi and other Opposition leaders were detained during another protest in Delhi over the same issue. The protests have intensified amid Opposition allegations concerning the revision of electoral rolls, while the Election Commission has rejected claims of wrongdoing.
Rahul Gandhi was subsequently released from the Barakhamba Road Police Station, bringing the latest detention to an end.
