Tensions escalated outside the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters on Tuesday after Congress workers and INDIA bloc supporters attempted to enter Nirvachan Sadan.
The attempt to breach the poll body's gates led to scuffles with security personnel. Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi and other senior parliamentarians staged a sit-in at the nearby Akashvani complex, around 100 metres from the ECI office.
Congress leader Pawan Khera criticised the police deployment, saying the Opposition leadership was being prevented from submitting a memorandum to the Election Commission.
"The Election Commission is right next door, but they are not allowing the country's Leader of the Opposition to go; he has been stopped. So you can see, Rahul Gandhi ji, Priyanka Gandhi ji, and all of us are sitting here on a dharna inside Akashvani. The Election Commission is hardly 100 meters from here," Khera told reporters.
Khera also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being afraid of the Opposition's allegations.
"The Leader of the Opposition wants to go there and submit his memorandum, but he is being stopped, and everyone is being stopped very ruthlessly. This is the condition of this country's democracy in the national capital. We understand that Narendra Modi is scared, and he should be; given the kind of misdeeds they have committed, they should be afraid—fear is justified."
Visuals from the spot showed Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and several senior INDIA bloc parliamentarians sitting inside the Akashvani Bhavan premises amid heavy police deployment and barricades blocking their movement towards Nirvachan Sadan.
During the protest march, Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of being responsible for alleged irregularities in the electoral process.
"We should demand the resignation of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, at whose behest these wrongdoings are taking place. If the decision within the Election Commission is to be taken by just one person, then why were two other individuals appointed? The system should be scrapped," Randhawa told ANI.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Sudhakar Singh said the protest extended beyond the INDIA bloc and reflected concerns among voters over democratic institutions.
"It is not just the INDIA alliance; sensible voters across the country are united today. This is a crucial fight to save democracy and protect the Constitution," Singh stated.
Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Rajeev Kumar Rai also targeted the Election Commission, saying the protest represented public anger against the poll body.
"The people of the nation have come forward against the Election Commission of India," Rai said.
Congress leader Sukhdeo Bhagat said the Opposition would expand its protests to the district level.
"We are protesting in a democratic manner, and we will also stage protests at the district level. In a democracy, the people are supreme, and the public has now realised that this government was formed by stealing the mandate."
The statements came as police stopped hundreds of protesting INDIA bloc MPs near the NITI Aayog office while they were marching towards Nirvachan Sadan. The Opposition has been demanding transparency in electoral rolls and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Earlier in the day, tensions escalated along the high-security corridor after MPs climbed police barricades. Several senior leaders, including Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, were taken into custody.