NEW DELHI: After a day of high drama in the Capital that saw a dharna by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and later detentions, the Opposition INDIA bloc sat down at a popular Delhi restaurant for lunch on Wednesday to chalk out its strategy going forward.
The Opposition MPs assembled at Sagar Ratna restaurant on Delhi’s Janpath on the invitation of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to give shape to their next steps as part of efforts to up the ante over the “vote chori” issue and push for the demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha said, “There will be a lunch; maybe there will also be a launch.”
As the INDIA bloc MPs started arriving at the central Delhi restaurant, massive security deployment was seen at the Election Commission. All major routes leading to the Election Commission were closed in anticipation of the ongoing protest by the Opposition. Security was also increased at Akashvani Bhawan, where Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and a host of Opposition MPs sat on a dharna after being stopped from marching to the poll panel office.
Buses were also seen parked near the restaurant which the MPs boarded after lunch.
The lunch meeting comes a day after Rahul Gandhi took centre stage at the Opposition’s street protest, forcing a total lockdown of Parliament Street as he led an over eight-hour sit-in that ended with his forcible detention after Opposition MPs were stopped from marching towards the Election Commission’s office nearby.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and others were released after 10 pm after about two hours in detention.While most Opposition MPs were detained and prevented from moving forward, Rahul Gandhi along with other Congress MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises, barely 200 metres from the EC office, insisting that they be allowed to meet the Election Commissioners.
Their sit-in, which began around noon, ended after 8 pm, when a large number of police personnel forcibly removed Gandhi from the premises and pushed him and others into police vans and buses, as the MPs resisted.
On Wednesday, an FIR was lodged against Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for entering Akashvani Bhavan without permission and staging a six-hour-long sit-in protest on the premises on Tuesday.
“We don’t care about the FIRs against Gandhi. There are hundreds lodged everywhere in the country,” said Congress Organisation Secretary K C Venugopal, who was at the dharna with the Gandhis.
“We are here for lunch, protests will continue. We strongly condemn how the LoP was dragged like a criminal. We don’t worry about any FIR,” said Congress MP Jothimani.
Umakant Lakhera is a Senior Journalist and Political Commentator
