New Delhi : BJP national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi accused Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi of staging a “drama” over his demand to meet the Election Commission, saying the poll panel’s official statement had exposed his claims as a “lie”.
Trivedi alleged that Gandhi spent the day claiming that the Election Commission was refusing to meet the Opposition, while the ECI had clarified that no political party had sought an appointment until 4 pm.
His remarks came after INDIA bloc leaders marched towards Nirvachan Sadan to protest against the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The protest was followed by a sit-in at Akashvani Bhawan, where Rahul Gandhi claimed that around 300 Opposition MPs wanted to meet the Election Commissioners and submit their concerns. Several Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were later detained by Delhi Police.
“The drama enacted by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi throughout the day has been exposed as a lie by the facts revealed in the Election Commission's officially released press statement. All day long, he kept telling the nation that he was being denied a meeting. The Election Commission has clearly stated that no request for a meeting was received from either the INDI Alliance or the Congress party,” Trivedi said in a press conference on Tuesday.
The BJP leader pointed to the ECI's clarification that it was informed by Delhi Police only around 4 pm that a delegation led by Rahul Gandhi wanted to meet the Election Commissioners and submit a memorandum. “Secondly, the Commission noted in its press release that it was only at 4 pm that the police DCP informed them of the Leader of the Opposition's desire to meet,” he said.
According to the ECI, meetings with political parties are governed by an established procedure laid down in 2025. Political parties or joint delegations are required to seek an appointment through their authorised representatives, after which the meeting is scheduled at a mutually agreed time. Trivedi alleged that Gandhi was unwilling to follow the established procedure as he insisted on entering the premises with a large group of MPs.
“The Commission has an established procedure for such requests: while they are ready to meet immediately, the meeting must take place with a delegation of representatives. However, he insisted on a different approach, claiming that 300
MPs were with him and intending to enter the premises with that entire group,” Trivedi said.
The ECI, in its statement, said that after 4 pm it was informed by Delhi Police that the proposed delegation consisted of around 240 MPs and that the meeting was sought at Parliament House Annexe. The poll panel termed the request “unusual” as, under its established protocol, such meetings are held at the ECI premises.
Trivedi said this further demonstrated that the Opposition's objective was not simply to meet the Election Commission or submit its memorandum. He also highlighted the ECI's offer to send its senior-most officer on duty to the protest venue to receive the memorandum, saying the Opposition rejected that option as well.
“It was suggested that a senior Commission official could visit the protest site to receive the memorandum, but Rahul Gandhi refused that option as well. It is evident that he had no real intention of actually presenting his case to the Election Commission,” Trivedi said.
The Election Commission described the offer to send its senior-most officer to receive the memorandum as an “unprecedented step”. It said the offer was declined by the Opposition MPs. The ECI reiterated that it respects parliamentary and democratic processes as well as its own protocols and conventions. It also said any political party could request a meeting with the Commission, following which a suitable date and time would be scheduled.
His remarks came amid an escalating political confrontation between the ruling party and the Opposition over the SIR exercise. The INDIA bloc has been demanding answers from the Election Commission over electoral-roll revision and has accused the poll panel of failing to address its concerns.
The Opposition's protest formed part of its broader “Save Democracy” campaign. Leaders of several INDIA bloc parties had marched towards Nirvachan Sadan but were stopped by barricades. Following this, they staged a sit-in at Akashvani Bhawan.
Rahul Gandhi had defended the protest, saying the Opposition merely wanted to meet the Election Commissioners and ask questions about the electoral roll revision. “300 opposition MPs were removed from there, so I came here and sat. We just want to meet Gyanesh Kumar and the other election commissioners. We are all opposition MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and we just want to talk to them. Don’t know why the Election Commission does not want to talk to us. Crores of people have voted for us. We just want to ask questions, but they don’t want to answer,” Gandhi said.
The ECI's clarification has now become a fresh point of contention, with the BJP using it to challenge the Opposition's account of the day's events. Trivedi said the sequence of events showed that Rahul Gandhi's claim that the Election Commission had refused to meet the Opposition was not supported by the poll panel's official account.