Rahul calls new trespass FIR a medal

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has treated the latest police case against him as a ‘badge of honour’ rather than a restraint. A day after Delhi Police registered an FIR over his entry into Akashvani Bhawan, the Leader of the Opposition (LOP) in the Lok Sabha said he was not scared, called the case a medal, and declared that he already had 45 such FIRs and wanted the tally to reach 100.

The remark came after officers at Parliament Street police station booked Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and other INDIA bloc leaders for allegedly entering the All India Radio complex without permission during Tuesday’s protest march against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The march of roughly 200 opposition MPs had set out from Makar Dwar of Parliament toward the Election Commission headquarters. It covered about 700 metres on Parliament Street before barricades stopped it outside Akashvani Bhawan, some 200 metres short of Nirvachan Sadan.

Gandhi climbed the barricades. As police began detaining MPs and workers, he reached a smaller entrance that remained open after the main gates had been shut and went inside. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal, Deepender Hooda and others followed. They demanded a meeting with the Election Commissioner and refused to leave. Senior police officers entered the building and asked them to come out. The sit-in continued for approximately seven hours. Police arrested the leaders around 7 p.m. and took them to the New Police Lines at Kingsway Camp. The FIR was initiated based on a complaint by Akashvani staff claiming the entry was unauthorised. Police have referred to the matter as trespass and said an investigation is ongoing.

The Delhi Police have not given the exact sections. Prohibitory orders under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were already in effect in the New Delhi area, and no request had been made for the march.

Gandhi’s response shifts attention from procedure to politics. By counting the FIRs and aiming for 100, he treats each case as evidence of pressure, rather than just asking if Opposition MPs might enter a Government broadcasting building after the march was stopped. The LOP-led protest targeted the Election Commission and highlighted concerns about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. It ended at another office, where leaders were detained after dark and formally charged the next day.

The main idea of the statement is the contrast. The police focus on unauthorised entry, refusal to leave, and the start of a formal case. In contrast, Gandhi describes the situation as a whole. For the Congress, this means that legal action will not stop their campaign against the Election Commission.

For the Government and Delhi Police, Tuesday’s facts are the same: the procession did not reach its goal, although Gandhi entered Akashvani Bhawan, and a seven-hour sit-in took place. The FIR now has a public response, instead of an explanation for the entry. The investigation will determine if the case moves forward. Gandhi has already decided how to respond.