The Congress on Wednesday criticised the Narendra Modi government after Delhi Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and others over their alleged unauthorised entry into Akashvani Bhawan during an Opposition protest on October 6.
The Congress accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of being “rattled” and “desperate”, alleging that the action was aimed at targeting Opposition leaders protesting against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that Rahul Gandhi had been highlighting what the party describes as a conspiracy involving the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the electoral process.
“For almost two years now the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has been relentlessly exposing, through factual evidence, the Vote Chori conspiracy hatched between the PM and the HM on one side and the CEC on the other,” Ramesh said in a post on X.
He also criticised the SIR exercise, claiming that genuine voters had been deprived of their constitutional right to vote. Referring to the process as “Shahenshah Instigated Removal”, Ramesh accused the authorities of responding to the Opposition’s peaceful protest with a police case.
“The diabolical duo is nervous, rattled and desperate. The writing on the wall is clear,” he said.
Later, Ramesh reiterated the party’s position, saying Rahul Gandhi was fighting against SIR while the government was occupied with filing FIRs against Opposition leaders.
FIR follows Akashvani Bhawan protest
According to police officials, the FIR was registered following a complaint alleging that Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, their supporters and other MPs accompanying them entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises without permission.
The case followed an INDIA bloc march towards the Election Commission of India’s headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday. The march was organised to protest against alleged irregularities in the functioning of the poll panel and the SIR exercise, with Opposition leaders demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
After police stopped the march, Opposition leaders staged a sit-in at Akashvani Bhawan. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were among around 260 people detained after the protest continued for more than eight hours.
The Congress and its INDIA bloc allies have maintained that their protest was intended to raise concerns about electoral transparency and voters’ rights. The allegations of electoral irregularities remain contested, while the police complaint concerns the alleged unauthorised entry into the premises.
