India’s Election Commission has escalated its confrontation with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, demanding that he file a sworn declaration within ten days to substantiate his allegation of large-scale voter list manipulation—including claims that more than 100,000 fictitious names were added in Bengaluru Central—or apologise publicly. Chief Electoral Officers in Karnataka, Haryana and Maharashtra have each served separate notices, while the national poll body reiterated that it found no evidence of the irregularities Gandhi cited. Against that backdrop, more than 200 opposition lawmakers from the INDIA bloc marched from Parliament to the Election Commission’s New Delhi headquarters on Monday to protest what they called ‘voter fraud’ in the 2024 general election and the current Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. The Commission had consented to meet only 30 representatives; Delhi Police erected barricades, halted the procession and detained the larger group for violating crowd-control orders. Those briefly held at Parliament Street Police Station included Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. Police officials said the detentions were preventive and that a smaller, authorised delegation would still be escorted to the Commission once names were provided. The Bharatiya Janata Party dismissed the opposition action as political theatre, arguing that electronic voting machines and voter lists have repeatedly withstood judicial and technical scrutiny. Party lawmakers urged Gandhi either to submit proof or withdraw his remarks, while some leaders suggested penalties for parties casting doubt on constitutional institutions. Opposition parties vowed to keep pressing for an independent audit of electoral rolls, framing the dispute as a test of the Election Commission’s credibility ahead of state elections later this year.