Rahul, opp lawmaker detained for second day

NEW DELHI:

Indian police detained opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and several lawmakers for the third time in two ?days on Wednesday as they launched an unannounced protest demanding the resignation of the election chief over a controversial revision of voter lists.

Opposition parties, their student units, and the "cockroach" youth movement have been staging almost daily demonstrations seeking Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation, after the Indian Express newspaper last month reported disagreements within the poll panel over updating voter lists, stoking concerns over its neutrality.

Opposition lawmakers led by the Congress party leader protested on Tuesday as well, seeking a meeting with Kumar and his deputies, before police broke up their gathering and briefly detained them. Wednesday's protest began after a lunch meeting of lawmakers that Congress organised at a restaurant in central Delhi, close to the Jantar Mantar site where authorities permit demonstrations. REUTERS