Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, along with party MPs, visited Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial in Delhi on Thursday as part of their announced protest programme. They paid floral tributes, stayed briefly and then left, effectively ending the day’s action.
The party has been demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner. Earlier in the week, Congress leaders staged a sit-in after entering the Akashvani Bhavan, and on the second day they were stopped and detained by police while attempting to march to Jantar Mantar.
With Thursday’s protest plans unclear, Delhi Police deployed hundreds of personnel across multiple locations from morning, anticipating possible demonstrations. Officials said the lack of prior clarity forced them to remain on high alert throughout the day.
After leaving the memorial, Congress MPs said they would hold a similar protest on Friday, but did not specify the venue or nature of the action. Police officials expressed concern that sudden protests in a high-security capital can create avoidable law-and-order risks.
Political commentators, as cited in the report, alleged that such tactics could be aimed at creating a situation where any disruption might later be used to blame the police and the Union government.
