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Lunch meet, then a Jantar Mantar protest bid: INDIA bloc MPs' bus trip brings Janpath to a halt
The three buses were stopped at the intersection of Janpath and Ashoka Road as the Delhi Police scrambled to prevent the MPs from reaching Jantar Mantar
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INDIA bloc lawmakers, packed into three buses, attempted to launch another massive protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar but were stopped by the Delhi Police on Janpath, bringing a large part of New Delhi to a halt on a busy Wednesday.
The lawmakers were invited by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for a vegetarian lunch at a popular restaurant on Janpath. After the lunch was over, it was decided to proceed to Jantar Mantar to restart the protest, which began with Tuesday's march from Parliament to Akashvani Bhavan.
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While many parties joined the lunch hosted by Mallikarjun Kharge, the Samajwadi Party, which has 37 MPs in the Lok Sabha, skipped it, blaming a lack of communication from the Congress.
The three buses were stopped at the intersection of Janpath and Ashoka Road as the Delhi Police scrambled to prevent the MPs from reaching Jantar Mantar, a site frequently used by parties and groups to stage protests.
*Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress President & Leader of Opposition (LoP), Rajya Sabha, addressed the media in New Delhi today.*
Addressing the media, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said, "All of us in the INDIA alliance will stage a protest at Jantar Mantar today; all key leaders will be present together. We will continue to protest in this manner until our demands are met."
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"Secondly, the Election Commission is repeatedly making mistakes at the behest of Modi ji. When Modi ji orchestrates such errors, it implies an attempt to destroy democracy in this country; he pays no heed to the Constitution. Therefore, we decided that it is our duty to convey the people's concerns to the entire nation. That is why Rahul ji is fighting, and all parties have united to inform the people across the country that their entitlements and rights are being taken away; we are striving to safeguard those rights. No matter how many cases are filed against us or how much intimidation is attempted, we will not be cowed; we will keep smiling and moving forward."
Rahul Gandhi told the media, "As I mentioned, approximately 300 MPs—from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha—wanted to meet the Election Commissioners yesterday; they wished to meet the three Election Commissioners, but they did not meet us. The Delhi Police stopped us, and yesterday they stated that we could not protest there.
"So today, we intend to go to the designated protest site—Jantar Mantar—and sit there once again to convey to the nation that, for us, Shri Gyanesh Kumar is not a legitimate Election Commissioner of the country. Modi ji, Amit Shah ji, Mohan Bhagwat, and Gyanesh Kumar ji have destroyed the country's democracy. And as I said yesterday—those who have done this are traitors, and we will take action against them. I am telling you right now: Gyanesh Kumar will have to resign," he said.
When asked about the FIR against him and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rahul said, "I already have 45 FIRs; my goal is to reach 100. I want 100 FIRs to be registered against me; for me, every FIR is a medal."
For more than three hours, the buses were not allowed to proceed, and the busy intersection was barricaded, bringing traffic to a halt on Ashoka Road, Raisina Road and Janpath.
At 6 pm, the police started detaining some protesters and taking them away. Two buses carrying the MPs were also removed.
On Wednesday, nearly 300 Opposition MPs marched from Parliament to Akashvani Bhavan to step up pressure on Gyanesh Kumar and force him to resign.
The march, part of a series of events planned by the INDIA bloc against Kumar, was stopped by the Delhi Police near Akashvani Bhavan, less than 300 metres from Nirvachan Sadan, the poll body's central office. While most of the MPs and party supporters were detained and taken away, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with Congress general secretary KC Venugopal and a few other party leaders, managed to enter the Akashvani Bhavan campus to continue their protest.
