RJD MP Manoj Jha, AAP’s Saurabh Bharadwaj and DYFI activists were detained near Jantar Mantar as Section 163 was imposed across New Delhi, internet was cut and 11 metro stations were closed ahead of a protest demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
Delhi Police on Friday detained protesters near Jantar Mantar, including Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha of the RJD and Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, to stop a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Gandhi Jayanti. A reporter at the site said people were being forcefully detained even before they entered the main protest site. Student activists from the Democratic Youth Federation of India were among those picked up. Police used drones to monitor the area, cut internet services around Jantar Mantar and completely barricaded the site before the protest began.
Section 163 and denied permission
Delhi Police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita across the New Delhi district and denied permission for the gathering. “Section 163 is in force in New Delhi,” DCP Sharma told reporters, adding that any unauthorised sit-in or protest is not allowed. The order bans assemblies of five or more people, processions and dharnas without written permission, and violators face action under BNS Section 223.
The order covers the entire district, so it reaches far beyond Jantar Mantar. The Constitution guarantees citizens the right to assemble peaceably, subject to reasonable restrictions. Police have said the gathering is unauthorised, but have not explained what threat to public order justified stopping people on foot, detaining a sitting MP and cutting internet access.
The protest was called by the All India Students’ Association, Manoj Jha and Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, with the Students’ Federation of India and DYFI also mobilising. It seeks the impeachment of Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of irregularities in electoral rolls and the conduct of elections. Police sources estimated that 3,000 to 4,000 people could turn up. Activists including Yogendra Yadav, Nikhil Dey and Nandita Narain were also among those scheduled to take part.
Barricades and shut stations
Police put up multi-layer barricades on routes to Jantar Mantar and deployed water cannons and paramilitary forces. The Quint reports that around 5,000 security personnel, including Delhi Police, reserve forces and paramilitary units, have been deployed, along with drones and CCTV monitoring. Other reports give different figures, including 4,000 police personnel and 20 companies of paramilitary forces.
Entry and exit are closed at 11 metro stations until further notice: Janpath, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Rajiv Chowk, Seva Teerth, Mandi House, Lok Kalyan Marg, INA, Chawri Bazar, Ramakrishna Ashram Marg and New Delhi. Interchange continues at Rajiv Chowk, Mandi House, INA, New Delhi and Central Secretariat. The Delhi Traffic Police also issued an advisory restricting traffic around Connaught Place, Patel Chowk, the GPO, Tolstoy Marg, Jantar Mantar Road and Parliament Street. The Internet Freedom Foundation has condemned the internet shutdown.
Detentions
Maktoob reports that police blocked all routes to Jantar Mantar and detained many, even those arriving on foot. The Quint reports that those who reached the area were detained, including Bharadwaj and party workers, and its video from the site describes police detaining every protester who tried to reach Jantar Mantar. It adds that more than 60 protesters, including Neha Bora, Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, were detained near Jantar Mantar during a similar protest earlier. Police have given one reason: no permission was granted.
The protest spreads to Mumbai
In Mumbai, the Cockroach Janta Party, led by Abhijeet Dipke, planned a protest at Shivaji Park. Its demands include Kumar’s resignation and criminal charges against him, a freeze on the SIR roll, and a transparent process for appointing the CEC with civil society participation. The Mumbai Police have not given permission. Dipke has said the group will hold protests in six more cities, ending at Jantar Mantar by the end of October. A lawyers’ association in Palghar has offered free legal help to the group’s members if they face repression.
The demand behind it
The protests follow weeks of mounting pressure on the Commission over the SIR, which has struck roughly 13 crore names off draft rolls across 30 states and Union Territories. Actor Prakash Raj, at the launch of the NO SIR National Platform, demanded the CEC’s removal. The Commission had not responded to the demand at the time of writing.
A demand for an official’s resignation is a political demand, not a threat. Yet it was met with a district-wide prohibitory order, 11 closed metro stations, an internet cut and the detention of an MP. The Delhi Police have still not said what danger they were preventing.
Image Credit: Hemant Rajaura / X