Protest against SIR and 'voter fraud': INDIA bloc leaders march to ECI office, Rahul Gandhi detained

The march started from the Makar Dwar in Parliament at 11:30 am.

Police said no permission was requested by the opposition bloc for the march.

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra led the march, which saw the participation of several regional parties like Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Trinamool Congress (TMC).

Rahul, Priyanka and several other opposition leaders have been detained.

"The truth about vote theft has come before the country. This fight is not political; it is a fight to save the Constitution. This is a fight for one person, one vote, so we need a clean voter list," said Rahul after he was detained. 

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "Our demand is that all opposition MPs collectively present a document to the Election Commission regarding vote theft. But we are not being allowed to march to the Election Commission; we have been stopped midway. This is the murder of democracy right in front of Parliament."

Rahul Gandhi served notice by ECI over voter fraud allegations

Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has sent a notice to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi asking him to provide physical evidence to back his voter fraud allegations.

In a press conference last week, Rahul alleged over a lakh votes were stolen with fake addresses, duplicate entries and bulk registrations of voters in a single address in the Mahadevapura constituency of Karnataka in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The CEO has categorically referred to Rahul's claim that one Shakun Rani, 70, had cast her vote twice in the elections as per the Election Commission of India (ECI) data.

"You are kindly requested to provide the relevant documents on the basis of which you have concluded that Shakun Rani or anyone else has voted twice, so that a detailed inquiry can be undertaken by this office," the CEO said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

Rahul last week gave a presentation to the media alleging how BJP had stolen votes in some constituencies to win the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"Narendra Modi is now the Prime Minister because of 25 Lok Sabha seats where votes were stolen," the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition said and added, "While majority of the seats are showing competitions, BJP is just sweeping some of the seats."

Following the allegations, the ECI asked Rahul to send the details of the voters whom he think were wrongly included or excluded along with a signed oath for each case.