NEW DELHI: The standoff between the opposition and the Election Commission intensified on Tuesday after Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra refused to leave the protest site near the poll panel’s office, even as the EC said it had received no request from any political party seeking a meeting with its officials.This comes as Rahul, Priyanka and other INDIA bloc leaders staged a protest near the Election Commission headquarters, demanding a meeting with the election commissioners to raise their allegations of “vote chori” and question Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.Responding to a query on whether INDIA bloc leaders had sought a meeting with the EC, poll panel officials said no such request had been received from any political party, according to news agency PTI.Rahul, Priyanka enter Akashvani BhawanThe INDIA bloc march began from Parliament Street and was headed towards the Election Commission headquarters, with opposition leaders demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.The march was stopped near the NITI Aayog office amid heavy security and barricading. Several opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress MPs Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, were detained.The protest took an unexpected turn after police stopped the INDIA bloc march towards the poll panel’s office. Rahul and Priyanka then entered the nearby Akashvani Bhawan premises, where they continued their protest.Police asked them to vacate the premises, but the protesters insisted on proceeding towards the Election Commission office. The dramatic turn came after Rahul climbed a police barricade and waved the national flag before entering the Akashvani Bhawan premises.‘We will sit here for as long as we need to’Speaking to reporters, Rahul Gandhi said the protesters were prepared to remain at the spot for as long as necessary.“We have no problem sitting here. We are comfortable here. We have laid out mattresses here. There is a toilet here and tea is also available. We will sit here for as long as we need to. We are protesting here against ‘vote theft’.”
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“If the government has a problem with us sitting here, then tell us where to sit and protest—we will sit there,” he added.The protests followed an Indian Express report alleging differences among election commissioners over the SIR process. The Election Commission has maintained that decisions on the exercise were unanimous.Opposition leaders have also questioned changes to Form 6, which is used for enrolment of new voters. The Supreme Court had said it had not approved any modified version of Form 6 being used during the SIR exercise.