Kharge to host INDIA bloc lunch as oppn plans next move after ‘vote chori’ protest

File photo: INDIA bloc 'vote chori' protest

NEW DELHI: A day after INDIA bloc MPs marched towards the Election Commission and Rahul Gandhi staged an hours-long sit-in, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is set to host opposition MPs for lunch in Delhi.Kharge has invited INDIA bloc MPs for lunch at 1.30 pm at Sagar Ratna on Janpath, sources informed ANI. The MPs are also expected to sign a letter seeking a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.The meeting comes after a dramatic day of protests on Tuesday, when opposition MPs marched from Parliament towards the Election Commission headquarters, demanding a meeting with the election commissioners over their allegations of irregularities in the electoral process.

What happened on Tuesday

The march was stopped by Delhi Police near Akashvani Bhawan, after which opposition MPs staged a sit-in. Rahul Gandhi, along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Congress leaders, had entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises and insisted that the delegation be allowed to meet the election commissioners.The protest continued for nearly nine hours before police detained several opposition MPs and took them to New Police Lines at Kingsway Camp.

Around 50 MPs were detained, while police figures put the total number of people detained at around 260.Rahul Gandhi questioned why elected representatives were being prevented from meeting the Election Commission when its office was only metres away. “If the representatives of the people cannot meet the Election Commission, then what is the meaning of democracy?” he said.

After his release, Congress MP Pawan Khera warned that Tuesday’s protest was not the end of the opposition campaign against the CEC.“If Gyanesh Kumar thinks that just because we went home today, it is all over, he needs to understand that this is merely the beginning — nothing has ended yet,” Khera said.The lunch hosted by Kharge is therefore expected to serve as a meeting point for the alliance to discuss its immediate strategy and decide how to sustain pressure over the “vote chori” issue.The opposition has been demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and is seeking a meeting with the election commissioners to press its allegations. The Election Commission has maintained its position on the issues raised by the opposition.