CONGRESS PROTEST ENDS IN MASS DETENTIONS AFTER EIGHT-HOUR STANDOFF AT AKASHVANI BHAWAN.

October 7, 2026

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 7: A prolonged Congress-led opposition protest in New Delhi ended late Tuesday with the detention of around 250 people, including nearly 50 Members of Parliament, after police prevented their march towards the Election Commission of India.

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were among those detained after protesters remained inside the Akashvani Bhawan premises for more than eight hours. Police subsequently cleared the area and took the detained protesters to the New Police Lines at Kingsway Camp.

The demonstration began after opposition MPs were stopped while marching from Parliament towards the Election Commission headquarters, located roughly 300 metres away. The protesters were demanding accountability from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and raising allegations concerning irregularities in electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision process.

Several opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress MPs Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, were also detained during the protest. The Congress maintained that the demonstration was aimed at defending voting rights and democratic institutions.

The Election Commission, meanwhile, said that the opposition delegation had not followed its established procedure for seeking a meeting. The confrontation and subsequent detentions have intensified the political dispute between the Opposition and the poll panel over electoral-roll revisions and the functioning of the Election Commission.