00:01Let's begin with breaking news that's coming in.
00:03We've been tracking the latest coming in on the dharna that's been continuing for over seven hours now
00:09by the Congress leadership, by the Gandhis, Rahul and Priyanka,
00:12who are seated right now at the Akashwani Bhavan.
00:14And now you've got the Election Commission countering Rahul Gandhi.
00:19What is Rahul Gandhi's demand? Why is he on a dharna?
00:21He's saying that he will not move away till he gets a meeting with the CEC.
00:25However, sources within the Election Commission have said that there's been no request
00:29that's come in right now from the Congress party to meet with Election Commission officials.
00:35The EC has told India today that the request will be considered of a meeting
00:40if Congress sends across a formal request.
00:43The Election Commission has highlighted that there is a process in place to get a meeting.
00:48Parties need to follow that process.
00:50And so if they go ahead and do that, there could possibly be a meeting that happens.
00:55Now, what, in fact, Election Commission has also told us here on India Today
00:59is that all of the top officials, the entire commission is very much present in the EC building.
01:04And so they are open to that meeting, putting the honours rather on the Congress on Rahul Gandhi,
01:09saying process is not being followed and application needs to be put in place
01:14for a meeting to actually happen.
01:17Rahul Gandhi, on the other hand, is saying he will not budge till he meets with the CEC
01:21and is questioning why that's not happened.
01:24Listen in to Rahul Gandhi.
02:09So Rahul Gandhi hinting there that this is going to be an overnight protest,
02:13saying we have mattresses, we have washrooms, we're getting food, we're not going anywhere.
02:17So the stage looks set for an overnight dharna that could be happening in the heart of the national capital.
02:24Amit Bharatwaj, who is tracking that protest closely, is joining us on this broadcast.
02:28Amit, you have now got communication that's coming from the Election Commission
02:32suggesting that there's been no formal request for a meeting with the CEC.
02:37What has the Congress got to say about that?
02:43Well, the Congress party in the India bloc is saying that we are here to protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar
02:49and we want him to be removed from the post.
02:52And that is why this entire dharna, the march, was carried out today.
02:57But what is interesting is that I would term it the Chapter 3 of this particular dharna
03:02because Chapter 1 was India bloc marching.
03:04Chapter 2 was when Rahul Gandhi went inside the Akashwani Bhavan
03:08and Chapter 3 has just begun because when he came in the morning,
03:12it was just this tree near which he was sitting and Pranika Gandhi Wadra was there.
03:18But now, you know, they have also managed to get mattresses out here,
03:23whatever is required for the evening sit-in that has been arranged by the Congress party.
03:27And his workers have been very strategically been able to manage.
03:32And right there you can see Priyanka Gandhi Wadra who is sitting right next to KC Venu Gopal.
03:37And I can see Raja Walling as well there, you know, protesting.
03:42And his other MPs are also now sitting on mattresses.
03:46So Rahul Gandhi, as you heard him say in that particular soundbite as well,
03:51that I can sit here as long as it is required.
03:55We have no problem here because this is a government building,
03:59Akashwani Bhavan, it has watch rooms and other, you know,
04:02important amenities that are required for anybody to stay in for long.
04:07As well as now mattresses are there.
04:09So the Congress leader and the leader of a position, Lok Sabha,
04:13seems to be very comfortable.
04:14Now depends how comfortable his colleagues are to be out here.
04:19But it's not about whether they want to meet election commissioner of India or not.
04:24It's rather about, you know, the opposition or rather the India bloc seeking his removal from the post of CEC.
04:31So this march was not where they are carrying a memorandum.
04:35We did ask this question from a couple of Congress leaders as well.
04:39So suppose if the election commission of India says...
04:43No, so Amit, are we going to see an overnight protest?
04:45We are sitting here...
04:45You know, are Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi going to stay put through the night now?
04:52We have reasons to believe so.
04:55Because the Congress party, its leader Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Vatra and the other leaders of the Congress
05:01are looking very confident and there seems to be a resolution as well to sit in out here
05:07until they are given a space to, you know, carry dharna or they are allowed to master the election commission
05:14of India.
05:15I can also see if at all, Lokendri will be able to show you that bus which is standing inside
05:21this Akaswani Bhawan since morning.
05:25This particular bus is standing there, possibly on standby if required to detain the leaders.
05:31That instruction obviously has not been received by the senior leaders of the senior police officials
05:37and I can see, you know, people from Rahul Gandhi's office as well possibly coordinating for something later in the
05:45evening.
05:45They are holding conversation with the senior official of Delhi police.
05:49That is somebody from Rahul Gandhi's team who has just spoken to the senior Delhi police officials.
05:54That conversation is still going on, possibly an attempt to negotiate that you do not carry on the dharna
06:00but Rahul Gandhi has made his mind clear.
06:02Alright, thanks Amit for those details.
06:04On your screens, the middle image that you see there, that's live.
06:08You see Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, KC Vena Gopal, several other leaders all seated together on mattresses now
06:14that has been set up under a banyan tree in the Akashwani Bhawan
06:17which is a stone's throw away from the election commission office.
06:20And it looks like the Gandhis, the Congress leadership is hell-bent on meeting with the CEC.
06:25They're saying they're going to stay put until that happens.
