More than 700 protesters, including leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and members of several student and youth organisations, were detained in New Delhi on Friday during demonstrations demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The protesters gathered around Jantar Mantar to raise allegations of irregularities and large-scale deletion of voters’ names during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The demonstrations were organised by political parties along with groups including the All India Students’ Association (AISA), Students’ Federation of India (SFI), National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI).
Police said around 700 protesters were detained from Jantar Mantar and surrounding areas. Earlier, the number of detainees had been put at around 150. Another police source said around 700 SFI members attempting to reach Jantar Mantar were stopped at a roundabout on Ashoka Road, with some subsequently detained.
AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj and legislator Sanjeev Jha were detained after reaching Jantar Mantar, while AAP leader Atishi was also taken into custody. Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh was stopped at North Avenue while attempting to reach the protest site.
In a video message, Bharadwaj said police had told them that permission for the demonstration had not been granted. He questioned why permission was required to protest at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest venue, and said the AAP had applied for permission about a week earlier.
Bharadwaj said the protesters were exercising their democratic right to raise their concerns. He also urged people to use open metro stations and, where possible, walk to Jantar Mantar after several metro stations in central Delhi were temporarily closed for security reasons.
Singh later staged a protest near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi inside the Parliament complex after being prevented from reaching the demonstration site. He accused the authorities of “vote theft” and called for an end to what he described as authoritarianism.
Atishi said the protesters were demonstrating peacefully to defend democracy and voting rights. She claimed that when they tried to reach Jantar Mantar, police put them on buses and took them to Fatehpur Beri police station.
AAP national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda criticised the detentions and said protests against the chief election commissioner would continue across the country.
Student organisations also reported police action against their members. SFI general secretary Aishe Ghosh said several SFI and DYFI activists had been detained. NSUI national president Vinod Jakhar and other members were also detained while marching from the organisation’s office towards Jantar Mantar.
The Indian Youth Congress separately marched from its Raisina Road office towards Jantar Mantar. Demonstrators carried posters and banners, as well as masks bearing images of Gyanesh Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The protest was led by Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib, whose organisation had announced a programme to surround the Election Commission office.
Delhi Police said permission for the proposed demonstration had been denied because of security concerns and the possibility of a large gathering. Restrictions were imposed in the area, and police repeatedly used public-address systems to warn people against assembling at Jantar Mantar.
Additional police, barricades and personnel from the Central Armed Police Forces were deployed around Jantar Mantar. Authorities had anticipated a gathering of several thousand people.
Internet services were also temporarily suspended in parts of central Delhi during the protests. Entry and exit gates at 12 Delhi Metro stations were temporarily closed for security reasons, including Rajiv Chowk, Central Secretariat and Jantar Mantar.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation later announced that all entry and exit gates at the 12 stations had been reopened.
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