New Delhi: The Delhi Police Monday said it has detained more than 30 Opposition MPs who were holding a march to the EC office against the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls.
The detained MPs include Congress’s Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, and TMC’s Sagarika Ghose, a police official said.
Police said the Opposition leaders were detained and taken to Parliament Street Police Station, as only the Election Commission had given permission to 30 MPs to enter its premises, but the protesters were in large numbers.
Police said no one had sought permission for the protest march to the Election Commission.
The Opposition leaders had planned a march from Makar Dwar in Parliament to the Election Commission office, where they wanted to hand over a memorandum on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) issue to the EC.
The MPs have been informed that only 30 MPs are allowed to go to the Election Commission. We will take them there once we get their names from the EC, a senior police officer said.
Security was tightened near the headquarters of the poll body, with barricades at multiple points along the route. Police personnel were deployed to maintain order and prevent any untoward incidents, a senior police officer said.
Additional security vehicles and quick reaction teams have also been stationed in the vicinity of the EC office and surrounding roads to ensure smooth traffic flow and prevent congestion.
The Opposition march was against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, which they allege is aimed at manipulating electoral rolls ahead of polls.
The Congress is also protesting what it claims was a large-scale manipulation of voter lists in Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura constituency during the 2023 Assembly elections.
PTI
