The Opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were detained after the protest over allegations of vote chori during the Special Intensive Revision exercise here on October 7 in central Delhi.

The opposition demands Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation alleging vote chori this agitation against the SIR is part of the opposition’s Save Democracy campaign.

Day one: the barricade and the sit-in

The protest began on Tuesday, October 6, when opposition leaders arrived at the Election Commission of India (ECI) and were stopped by heavy barricading.

At Akashvani Bhawan, Rahul Gandhi scaled a multi-layered steel barricade, stood on top and waved the tricolour.

He crossed the police cordon and entered the All India Radio premises, followed by Priyanka Gandhi and others.

Gandhi staged a sit-in that continued until around 8 pm, claiming the opposition had sought a meeting with the Commission and would not leave until the poll panel met them.

The ECI disputed this, stating that no political party had sought an appointment by 4 pm and found the proposed venue and request unusual.

At around 8 pm, police removed Gandhi and other leaders from the premises. “They acted to maintain law and order, as no one had sought or granted permission for the rally,” police said.

About 260 people, including 10 MPs, were detained following repeated non-compliance with instructions and were released around 10 pm.

Police filed an FIR against Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and their supporters for allegedly forcing their way into the Akashvani Bhawan.

Day two: the road to Jantar Mantar

On Wednesday, following a lunch hosted by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, MPs boarded buses for Jantar Mantar, the designated protest site.

“The aim was to tell the country that, for the opposition, Gyanesh Kumar is not a legitimate Election Commissioner,” Rahul Gandhi told reporters.

The convoy never reached Jantar Mantar as Delhi Police, the Rapid Action Force and the CISF had cordoned off much of Lutyens’ Delhi and stopped the buses on Ashoka Road.

The leaders staged their sit-in at the roundabout near the Shangri-La hotel following the most dramatic moment when Priyanka Gandhi lay on the road with a copy of the Constitution along with other women leaders.

Police cleared the road, and Rahul Gandhi was carried on the shoulders of security personnel and placed in a police bus.

Some Congress leaders climbed onto that bus, and MP Mumtaz Patel sat on its bonnet as women police officers then removed Priyanka Gandhi and the other protesters.

“MPs who only wanted to meet the election commissioners were being beaten,” Priyanka said.

LOP Rahul Gandhi was taken to Barakhamba Road police station, while Priyanka Gandhi and others were held at Chhatrasal Stadium.

Opposition leaders say protests defend democracy and rights of voters.

“We were blocked from the one place where protest is permitted and were treated harshly for asking to meet the poll body,” Opposition leaders said.

Rules were broken, and no permission was taken or granted for the rally, the ECI said.

The protests have provided the opposition with strong visual moments and kept the SIR controversy in the news.

They also raise questions about whether the FIR against Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi will go anywhere.

The ECI will engage with the opposition and whether the INDIA bloc sustains pressure beyond Delhi. The movement is ongoing, and these are details from early reports.