Congress MP Rahul Gandhi may call off his sit-in protest outside the Election Commission of India (ECI) on two key conditions: a written or formal assurance from an ECI official guaranteeing a meeting within the next day or two, and permission for all 300 Opposition MPs to participate in that meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the two Election Commissioners.
According to NDTV, the party has dispatched a letter formally requesting the meeting after Gandhi and leaders of the Opposition bloc INDIA marched towards Nirvachan Sadan on October 6, demanding the CEC's resignation over alleged irregularities in the voter roll cleanup exercise, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
"If an official from the Election Commission comes and gives an assurance of a meeting within the next day or two, Gandhi might call off his ongoing sit-in protest today. But his condition is that all 300 MPs will participate in the meeting," a party source said.
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Earlier in the day, Gandhi walked toward the ECI headquarters as crowds chanted slogans demanding Kumar's resignation. Halted by multiple rows of police barricades, Gandhi abruptly climbed onto one and waved a large national flag, drawing loud cheers from INDIA bloc leaders and cadre.
Together with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, he was briefly taken into custody and placed in a police bus before both were seen stepping off shortly after, NDTV reported.
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"The Election Commission office is barely 50 metres away, but we were not allowed to go there. I do not understand what the problem is. The Election Commission's job is to conduct elections properly. At least 300 MPs want to meet Gyanesh Kumar. But he is scared. I don't know what's happening in the country," Gandhi told reporters. "If the representatives of the people cannot meet the Election Commission, then what is the meaning of democracy?"
Blocked by barricades en route to Nirvachan Sadan, the lawmakers subsequently staged a sit-in inside the nearby Akashvani complex, roughly 100 metres from the poll panel's headquarters.
"We don't have any problem with protesting here... We will continue our protests here... If they (Delhi Police) are uncomfortable with us protesting here, they can provide us with another place to protest... The Constitution allows us to lodge a protest," Gandhi told reporters at Akashvani Bhavan.
The march had begun at the Parliament compound, with Opposition MPs carrying "Save Democracy" banners and raising slogans against Gyanesh Kumar. The demonstration follows days of deliberation within the Opposition bloc over a unified protest strategy, an issue that has gained traction across headlines and drawn backing from youth-led groups.
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