On October 6, 2026, Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was physically dragged by Delhi Police officers and placed inside a bus after leading an eight-hour sit-in protest at Akashvani Bhavan in central Delhi. The protest, organised by the INDIA bloc, demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over voter roll revisions.
Gandhi was detained around 8 PM, according to a Hindustan Times report, which said a group of policemen physically dragged him and put him inside a bus. The same report said Gandhi attempted to escape through the window of the vehicle. The Congress party alleged that Gandhi, KC Venugopal and several other leaders were manhandled and dragged into buses.
The protest began as a march from Parliament to the Election Commission of India (ECI). Hindustan Times reported that at least 300 lawmakers from the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) took part, and that more than 250 opposition members were detained when police stopped them outside Nirvachan Sadan. Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with around 20 others, then entered the Akashvani Bhavan campus and continued their protest until the evening, the report said.
The detained leaders and MPs were packed into vehicles, taken to Kingsway Camp and released around 10:15 PM, Hindustan Times reported. The exact number of people held at each location, and whether any formal charges were recorded, has not been confirmed.
The opposition has alleged that Kumar manipulated voter rolls to favour Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party. Gandhi alleged that Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had “hijacked” the country with Kumar's help by stealing votes, according to Hindustan Times.
The BJP rejected the accusations. Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said those who “looted the country” while in power were now talking about “theft”, and that repeated defeats had left Congress frustrated, the report said.
The ECI said in a statement that no political party had sought an appointment until 4 PM. It said police informed it at 4 PM that 240 MPs wished to meet the election commissioner at the Parliament House annexe, a request the commission considered “unusual” and could not accept. The poll body said it was ready to send a senior official to collect the protesters' memorandum, but the MPs did not agree.
What is confirmed is Gandhi's detention after the sit-in, the release of detained leaders late on October 6, and the opposition's demand for Kumar's resignation. What remains unclear is the precise number detained at each site and whether any formal charges or further legal action will follow. The dispute over the voter roll revisions and the Election Commission's response is expected to continue.