Media365
3 min readMumbaiOct 7, 2026 07:12 PM IST
Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi, and other prominent leaders of the Indian National Congress were detained on Tuesday after their over eight-hour sit-in inside Akashvani Bhawan premises. Though they were released after 10 pm, visuals of Rahul and Priyanka taking over the historic headquarters of All India Radio in New Delhi reminded many on the internet of an enduring climax from a seminal film.
Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi’s RDB moment?
“‘Occupy Akashvani Bhavan’ was not the plot twist I was expecting today. This is Rang De Basanti vibes,” wrote Nationalist Congress Party member Anish Gawande on his X handle, sharing a video of Rahul and Priyanka performing a dharna in the Akashwani Bhawan premises. The Congress leaders chose that as their protest site after not being allowed to march towards the Election Commission.
The protest march of the INDIA block, led by Rahul Gandhi, was aimed at demanding the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over “vote chori” charges. An Express Investigation report exposing the glaring lacunae in the protocol followed by the CEC, which helped the Bhartiya Janata Party win elections in states like West Bengal. This led to nationwide protests starting October 2 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.
“Occupy Akashvani Bhavan” was not the plot twist I was expecting today.
This is Rang De Basanti vibes. https://t.co/nI69EmJp5F
— Anish Gawande (@anishgawande) October 6, 2026
After the INDIA bloc leaders were stopped by Delhi Police from marching ahead to the Election Commission, they managed to barge into Akashvani Bhawan premises at around 2 pm. After Rahul was detained, Priyanka even climbed the gate of Kingsway Camp police lines in order to unlock it from the inside and allow other leaders to enter the premises. An FIR was registered against Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders on Wednesday morning for his breaking in into Akashvani Bhawan despite not seeking permission for the protest march towards the Election Commission.
What happened in Rang De Basanti?
In Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s 2006 patriotic film Rang De Basanti, which completed 20 years since release this past Republic Day on January 26, a bunch of young college students rebel against the system after their friend, an Indian Air Force pilot, is killed in a fighter jet crash caused by a manufacturing defect that took place owing to corruption by the Union Defence Minister.
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Inspired by the idols of freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh and Chandra Shekhar Azad, the friends — played by Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Kunal Kapoor, Sharman Joshi, and Atul Kulkarni — barge into the AIR headquarters. Aamir and Siddharth’s characters reveal on the radio that they’re being targeted by the system for raising their voice, before they’re found and shot down by the forces.
