'They're scratching, beating MPs': Chaos at opposition's Jantar Mantar protest
What's the story
Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi was forcibly taken to a police van as opposition MPs tried to stage a protest at Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amidst allegations of "vote chori." Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged that the MPs were being beaten up and policemen had scratched her all over. The MPs have claimed they were stopped from moving toward the protest site.
Twitter Post
Video shows chaos
#WATCH | Delhi Police personnel remove Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from the site near Jantar Mantar where the INDIA bloc MPs have been stopped from going ahead to the protest site. The MPs are now being detained by the Police.
— ANI (@ANI) October 7, 2026
(Video: Congress) pic.twitter.com/ZBX8h5HbKH
Vadra
'I will not move from here'
"They are beating MPs. The policemen have scratched me all over. They have thrown us to the ground....we are not going to move from here," Priyanka said, lying on the ground.
"You can see the brute force with which Delhi Police is handling peaceful protesters...Why are MPs being blocked from reaching Jantar Mantar? What is going on here?" TMC MP Mahua Moitra also said.
The siblings, along with other opposition MPs, were taken away from the spot after detention.
Protest details
Protest march halted by security cordon
The protest was announced after a solidarity lunch hosted by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The MPs, including those from the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), Communist Party of India (CPI), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), among others, boarded buses to Jantar Mantar.
However, their march was halted by a security cordon near the Shangri-La hotel on Ashoka Road, barely another kilometer away from the protest site.
Detained
They were detained on Tuesday too
The Delhi Police had detained Gandhi, Priyanka, and other opposition MPs on Tuesday as well after their sit-in at Akashvani Bhawan, demanding to meet ECI officials. They were released later that night.
An FIR has since been registered against them for entering the Akashvani Bhavan premises without permission during Tuesday's protest.
Gandhi has compared the FIR to "a medal."
"I have 45 FIRs against me. My goal is to have 100...Every FIR is a medal for me," he said.