Delhi Police detained several senior opposition MPs on Monday morning, including Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut. They were protesting in central Delhi against what they say is “collusion” between the Election Commission (EC) and the ruling BJP.

Joint Commissioner of Police Deepak Purohit confirmed the detentions but did not give exact numbers, saying the INDIA bloc leaders were taken to a nearby police station. He also said the protest had no police permission.

Outside Parliament, visuals showed opposition MPs and party workers waving placards, shouting slogans, and pushing against police barricades. Some even tried to climb over the barricades. The protest turned tense when two Trinamool Congress MPs, including Mahua Moitra, fainted. The opposition had planned to march to the EC office, but police blocked roads, set up barricades, and surrounded the protesters with heavy security.

The protest led to both Houses of Parliament being adjourned until 2 pm. The opposition alleges the EC is working with the BJP to manipulate voter lists and commit voter fraud. They claim similar manipulation happened in last year’s Maharashtra election and the Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka. In Maharashtra, they sayan unusually high number of new voters were added just six months after the federal election, which the BJP had lost.

Rahul Gandhi recently presented data to the INDIA bloc claiming large-scale voter fraud and demanded that the EC release a searchable draft of voter lists so errors can be checked.

The opposition is also angry about the EC’s “special intensive revision” (SIR) of Bihar’s voter list just months before elections there. They say this could remove certain voter groups, especially those who usually support them. The revision has been challenged in the Supreme Court, but the court has allowed it to continue with the condition that genuine voters are not excluded and that the 65 lakh people already removed get a chance to appeal.

The EC has denied all allegations, calling its process transparent, and has challenged Rahul Gandhi to provide evidence in a signed affidavit.