HighLights
  1. Rahul Gandhi's viral video with Delhi Police officer during protest.
  2. Gandhi questioned his right to protest and sit publicly.
  3. INDIA bloc protested to protect democracy near Election Commission.

A video showing Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi having a conversation with a Delhi Police officer during the INDIA bloc's march to the Election Commission has gone viral.

The video was posted amid the ongoing high-voltage drama during the opposition bloc's march from Parliament Street to the Election Commission headquarters on Tuesday. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with several other supporters, entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises in an attempt to reach the poll panel's office.

The 2-minute-and-14-second video was shared by Rahul Gandhi, shows him and Priyanka Gandhi sitting under a tree as Delhi Police officers politely ask them to leave the area and return home.

At the beginning of the video, a Delhi Police officer politely asks Gandhi to keep the danda (Indian flag ), saying that it could hurt someone. Gandhi responds by pointing out that it is a national flag.

The conversation then turns to the police asking Gandhi to leave the area.

“What's the problem? You removed me from there. Now I have come here, and you want to remove me from here too?” Gandhi asks the officer.

When the officer asks him to go home, Gandhi responds, “I can only go home? I can't sit here? Fine, if you want to remove me from here, go ahead--but just tell me: where in this country can I sit? I just want to sit somewhere.”

“I am a politician. I want to sit outside. You tell me one place,” Gandhi says, adding, “You are asking an MP to do something that is wrong. This is my right to sit. I am even telling you, give me a place to sit anywhere except my house.”

Gandhi then asks, “What do you think politicians should do, sit in their houses?”

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also joins the conversation, saying, “If any citizen of this country wants to protest, it's their right. This is the normal procedure of a democracy and the Constitution.”

The police officer points out that the protest is causing inconvenience. Gandhi responds, “We are 300 MPs. We want to go and meet the EC. You are stopping us. We want to go there. We have taken an appointment; they have not granted us.”

“We will sit here. If you are feeling inconvenience, give us a place. We will sit there,” he adds.

The video ends with the exchange between the Congress leaders and the police officer.

Rahul Gandhi: Protesting To 'Protect Democracy'

Speaking to reporters outside Akashvani Bhawan, Rahul Gandhi said he was not concerned about what the BJP had to say and claimed that the opposition MPs were protesting to protect democracy.

“I am not interested in what the BJP says. I am standing here to protect democracy in the country. Along with me, 300 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs had come, and they are also trying to protect democracy,” Gandhi said.

Several opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress MPs Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O'Brien, were detained during the protest.

Police had put barricades along Parliament Street and other approach roads to prevent the march from reaching the Election Commission's office.

Gandhi was accompanied by Congress MPs, including K C Venugopal, Deepender Singh Hooda, Charanjit Singh Channi, Pawan Khera, Imran Pratapgarhi and Praniti Shinde.

“We represent the people of the country; we are their voice. But we are not being allowed to go to the Election Commission's office. I don't know why. Three hundred MPs want to meet Gyanesh Kumar, but he is scared,” Gandhi said.

“What is happening in the country? If the Election Commission does not meet the MPs who represent the people, then what is the meaning of democracy?” he asked.

“These people have stolen votes and hijacked the country. You will see--none of these will survive; action will be taken against all,” Gandhi asserted.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Rahul Gandhi Climbs Atop Barricades, Waves Tricolour During INDIA Bloc's March To EC Office

EC says no meeting request was received

Amid the opposition protest, the Election Commission said on Tuesday that it had not received any request from any political party for a meeting.

The clarification came as Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders staged a protest near the poll panel's office, seeking a meeting with the Election Commissioners.

ALSO READ: Protests, Unity And Legal Routes: How Is Opposition Cornering Election Commission Amid ECI-SIR Row?

Responding to a query on whether INDIA bloc leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, had sought a meeting with the EC, poll panel officials said that no request for a meeting on Tuesday had been received from any political party whatsoever, PTI reported.


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