NEW DELHI: A day after INDIA bloc MPs staged a march and Rahul Gandhi led an over eight-hour sit-in over the Opposition’s “vote chori” allegations, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will host MPs of the alliance for lunch at a Delhi restaurant on Wednesday.The lunch is scheduled for 1.30pm at Sagar Ratna on Janpath, sources said. The meeting is expected to provide the Opposition another opportunity to discuss its next steps over the “vote chori” issue and its demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.The lunch comes a day after a dramatic day of protests in the national capital, during which Parliament Street was effectively shut down as Opposition MPs attempted to march towards the Election Commission’s office.Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, led the protest and later staged a sit-in at Akashvani Bhawan after police stopped the MPs from proceeding towards the Election Commission.The sit-in, which began around noon, continued for more than eight hours and ended after 8pm when police personnel forcibly removed Gandhi and other protesters and took them into custody.Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress leader K C Venugopal, TMC’s Derek O’Brien and other Opposition MPs were among those detained. Police said around 250 people were detained during the protests.Most of the detained leaders were released after a brief detention, while Gandhi and other MPs were released after 10pm following around two hours in custody.The protests began around 11am on Tuesday when Opposition MPs marched from Parliament House towards the Election Commission amid heavy police barricading.Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several Congress MPs later entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises, around 200 metres from the Election Commission’s office, and demanded permission to meet the election commissioners.The day ended with clashes and jostling between protesters and police as officers moved to clear the site.Against this backdrop, Wednesday’s lunch hosted by Kharge is likely to be closely watched for indications of the Opposition’s next course of action on the “vote chori” issue and its demand for action against the CEC.
