New Delhi: Celebrations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 25th year in public life were marred on Wednesday (October 7) as leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc MPs staged street protests for the second consecutive day in Delhi as they intensified their demand for chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.The streets of the national capital saw a showdown between the police and the MPs – including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who lay down on the road – before the leaders were forcibly detained as they sought to make their way to Jantar Mantar.The protests came after Modi began the day by visiting the Shri Vinayak Temple in New Delhi to mark the completion of 25 years since he became Gujarat chief minister in 2002. He then addressed a Viksit Bharat Sankalp Sabha, in which he urged Indians to adopt a “we will do it” attitude and said that when he became chief minister he never knew that he would one day complete 25 years in public life.A large number of security personnel try to stop opposition leaders from reaching Jantar Mantar on October 7 to protest against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Photo: Tarun Saha.Modi’s X account on Wednesday saw him replying to tweets from BJP leaders as well as leaders from South Korea, Nigeria, Dominica, the Philippines, Bhutan, Botswana and Serbia. He ended his day by meeting former deputy prime minister and party stalwart L.K. Advani.However, Modi made no mention of the ongoing demonstrations on the streets of the national capital, which continued for their second consecutive day with opposition MPs being detained as they sought to sit on protest against the conduct of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls under CEC Kumar.Opposition MPs met for a lunch meeting called by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at the Sagar Ratna restaurant. The meeting came a day after Gandhi staged an eight-hour protest at Akashvani Bhawan when he was blocked from proceeding to the Election Commission’s headquarters just about 100 metres away.At the lunch meeting, The Wire has learnt, leaders decided to proceed to Jantar Mantar, the designated protest site in the national capital, which has been behind heavy police barricades ever since the youth protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party that ended with Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.Congress leaders Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Deepender Hooda and others stand on top of this bus en route to Jantar Mantar. Photo: Ishan Tankha.Gandhi, Vadra, Kharge and other opposition MPs, including Derek O’Brien, John Brittas, P Sandosh Kumar, Manoj K. Jha and E.T. Mohd Basheer, then boarded three buses that were waiting outside. The Wire has learnt that while a plan was already made on Tuesday night to hold a protest after the lunch meeting, the destination, Jantar Mantar, was decided during the luncheon.“As I said yesterday, about 300 MPs wanted to meet the chief election commissioner, but they said that we could not hold a protest there. So, today, our plan is to go to the designated protest site, Jantar Mantar, sit there together once again and tell the country that, for us, Gyanesh Kumar is not the legitimate [chief] election commissioner of the country,” Gandhi said after the lunch meeting before proceeding to Jantar Mantar.“Modi, Amit Shah, Mohan Bhagwat and Gyanesh Kumar have destroyed the democracy of the country. As I said yesterday, those who have done this are traitors to the country, and we will take action against them. I am telling you right now Gyanesh Kumar will have to resign.”While the buses left after 3 pm, it took nearly two hours for them to reach Jantar Mantar via Ashoka Road amid a heavy police presence. The buses were stalled on their way at Ashoka Road, just about a kilometre away from their destination.As police barricades and heavy security deployment stopped the buses, National Students’ Union of India and Indian Youth Congress workers were seen clashing with the police, following which the detentions began.Gandhi then got off the bus along with his sister Vadra and several other MPs. While the police attempted to stop them, Vadra lay down on the road alongside a few other women leaders with a copy of the Constitution in her hand.VIDEO | Delhi: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) lied down on road, holding a copy of the Constitution in her hands(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/d8jp61yd2p) https://t.co/oB3EuMkuvP— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 7, 2026“This is how they treat members of parliament who are asking simply to meet the election commissioner. This is how they treat us. They are beating MPs. The policemen have scratched me all over. They have thrown us to the ground. Now, we are not going to move from here,” said Vadra as she lay on the ground.Both Gandhi and Vadra were subsequently forcibly removed and detained by the police along with several other MPs, including O’Brien and Mahua Moitra of the Mamata All India Trinamool Congress among others. While Gandhi was taken to the Barakhamba Road police station, Vadra, Moitra and a few others were taken to the Chhatrasal stadium. The leaders were later detained.While he was detained and being taken to the police station, Gandhi said that the opposition “will not stop”.“We are not going to stop protesting till Gyanesh Kumar resigns. This is a fight to protect the most sacred thing in this country. There is nothing that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah can do that will stop us,” he said.At the Barakhamba Road police station, Congress chief ministers from Telangana and Keralam, Revanth Reddy and V.D. Satheeshan, also arrived.The protest on Wednesday came a day after the opposition took out a joint march from parliament to the Election Commission but were stopped on their way in front of Niti Aayog, following which Gandhi in a change of plan then walked into the Akashvani Bhawan premises and staged a nearly eight-hour-long protest demanding to meet the Election Commission.The protest ended late on Wednesday night when Gandhi was detained along with other MPs who were sitting with him.The Wire has learnt that the opposition has planned a larger protest on Thursday, which is to include members of the Samajwadi Party who were not present on Wednesday due to what opposition leaders said was a “miscommunication on WhatsApp”.The absence of the Samajwadi Party was notable ahead of elections in Uttar Pradesh next year, and as party chief Akhilesh Yadav was present during the opposition march on Wednesday and was also briefly detained.On Tuesday, the Biju Janata Dal, which has maintained that it is not with the National Democratic Alliance or the INDIA bloc, was also in attendance. Two of its MPs, Sulata Deo and Manas Mangaraj, attended the march and were also briefly detained.The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which has exited the INDIA bloc since the Congress broke off its alliance with the party following the Tamil Nadu assembly elections to align with the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, remained absent on both days along with the the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The AAP however staged separate protests outside the chief electoral officer’s premises in New Delhi against the SIR and demanded Kumar’s resignation.The Wire has learnt that opposition parties have also written to President Droupadi Murmu seeking an appointment. While they had sought any date between October 7 and 9, a final date of appointment has not yet been given.This story has been updated with more information.