Chaos as Opposition's ‘vote chori’ march to EC office foiled

High drama unfolded outside Parliament on Monday as the Opposition’s march to the Election Commission's (EC) office against the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and alleged "vote chori" was foiled by the authorities. Protesting MPs were whisked away in buses to the nearest Parliament Street Police Station, where they were released later.

Nearly 300 Opposition MPs, wearing white caps marked with red-crossed words "SIR" and “vote chori” and led by Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, tried to take out the march to the EC office, accusing the poll body of colluding with the BJP to facilitate its electoral goals through manipulation.

Holding placards with slogans such as "SIR: Stealing Democratic Rights" and "vote chori", the MPs raised their voice against the government and the EC. As the MPs tried to proceed towards Nirvachan Sadan — the ECI headquarters — they were stopped by personnel of the Delhi Police, Rapid Action Force and the Central Industrial Security Force. Raising slogans "vote chor, gaddi chor" (vote thief, throne thief), “down, down, Modi down”, the MPs staged a sit-in on the road inside the barricaded area.

Several MPs clashed with the police while many, including SP's Akhilesh Yadav, TMC's Sagarika Ghose and Sushmita Dev, and Congress' Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Sanjana Jatav and Jothimani climbed the barricades.

Amid the chaos, sloganeering, sit-in and detention, TMC MPs Mahua Moitra and Mitali Baugh fainted. Fellow parliamentarians, including Rahul, were seen attempting to revive them with water and first aid. Baugh was shifted to hospital.

Later, scores of Opposition MPs, including Rahul, were detained. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and his party colleague Jairam Ramesh were among others detained leaders.

Upon detention, Rahul through the window of a bus told the reporters: "This fight is not political but for saving the Constitution." Kharge before being huddled into the bus said: "... the truth is before the entire country". He said the fight against SIR was to protect people's right to vote, asserting "BJP's cowardly dictatorship will not work".

Prominent among those who participated in the march were Sharad Pawar (NCP-SP) , TR Baalu (DMK), Sanjay Raut (SS-UBT), Derek O’Brien (TMC), Priyanka Gandhi (Congress), Sanjay Singh (AAP)  as well as MPs from the DMK, RJD and Left parties.