Delhi police file 25 FIRs linking opposition leaders to anti-EC protests
Delhi Police have lodged 25 FIRs over recent anti-Election Commission demonstrations, naming Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra among those cited.
Delhi Police have recorded 25 FIRs in connection with anti-Election Commission protests that began on October 2. The complaints cite incidents of public-property damage, attacks on police personnel, obstruction of official duties and violations of court-issued prohibitory orders. Protesters are accused of taking the law into their own hands and disrupting public order, prompting action under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which prohibits unlawful assemblies in New Delhi district.
The FIRs specifically name Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Demonstrations have been ongoing in Lutyens Delhi, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged roll-revision irregularities. Hundreds of participants were detained during the protests but later released.
Why it matters
The filings implicate senior opposition figures in alleged law-breaking, raising political tensions ahead of upcoming elections.
How the sides frame it
MODERATE AGREEMENTBoth camps report the filing of 25 FIRs against Congress leaders, but left-leaning coverage frames the protests as anti-Election Commission actions demanding the CEC’s resignation, while right-leaning coverage labels them as SIR protests sparked by an Indian one outlet's report on Election Commissioners’ objections.
LEFT
Opposition leaders are linked to anti-Election Commission protests that threaten public order and demand the CEC’s resignation.
RIGHT
Congress leaders are linked to SIR protests triggered by Election Commissioners’ objections.
The left emphasises
- public-property damage, attacks on police personnel, and obstruction of official duties
- protesters taking the law into their own hands and disrupting public order
- demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over roll-revision irregularities
The right emphasises
- damage to public property, physical confrontations with police, and hindrance of official duties
- protests sparked after one outlet reported Election Commissioners’ objections to roll-revision decisions
- the filings are presented as a response to repeated alleged offences
In this story
Related stories
12 in this thread