New Delhi: On a day of dramatic march and sit-in by Opposition MPs led by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, the Election Commission clarified that till 4 p.m. no political party or its representative had sought an appointment with the Commission for a meeting, an official said.
Even as the Delhi Police detained Rahul Gandhi from his make-shift sit-in venue at Akashvani Bhavan on Parliament Street around 8 p.m., the ECI maintained that there was no direct communication or advance information from Rahul Gandhi or other MPs about his desire to meet the Commission to submit a memorandum.
“At 4 p.m., the Delhi Police informed the Commission that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi-led team of MPs wants to submit a memorandum,” the ECI said in a statement.
Later, the police informed that the 240 MPs wanted to hold a meeting with the Commission at Parliament Annexe, the ECI said.
This suggestion, however, was rejected by the poll panel as the protocol did not allow such a meeting to take place at any place other than Nirvachan Sandan, the ECI said.
The ECI statement said that the Commission proposed to send its most senior official to the proposed meeting venue to receive the memorandum from the MPs, which would have been an unprecedented step in itself.
However, this suggestion was also rejected by the MPs, said the statement.
The ECI reiterated that it respects the parliamentary and democratic processes of the country, and also respects its own protocols and traditions, which are of utmost importance.
“Any political party may request a meeting with the Election Commission at any time, and the Commission may schedule a meeting, taking into account logistical conveniences. This is a natural process,” said the statement.
The statement said, “The Election Commission of India established a procedure for meetings with political parties in 2025. All political parties have been informed of this and follow this procedure.”
“Whenever a political party delegation or a joint delegation of several parties wishes to meet the Commission, they seek an appointment through their duly authorised representative. The meeting is then held at a time mutually agreed upon by both parties,” it said.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and other INDIA bloc leaders were detained by police from the Akashvani Bhavan after over nine hours of staging a sit-in at the premises near the ECI’s office.
During the day, INDIA bloc MPs tried to push open the gates of the Akashvani Bhawan as they intensified their protest against the Election Commission of India (ECI), demanding Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged vote theft.
