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More than 700 people, including opposition leaders and student activists, were detained by Delhi Police on Friday during protests at and around Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Former Delhi chief minister Atishi, Aam Aadmi Party’s Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, activist Yogendra Yadav and All India Students Association (AISA) president Neha Bora were among those detained.
The protesters accused the Election Commission of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged large-scale deletion of voters. The Election Commission has rejected the allegations, saying the revision is intended to remove duplicate, deceased and otherwise ineligible voters.
Police had denied permission for the demonstration and imposed prohibitory orders in the New Delhi district. Additional security personnel and barricades were deployed around Jantar Mantar to prevent unauthorised gatherings.
Bharadwaj said before the protest that peaceful demonstration was a democratic right and claimed that the AAP had applied for permission several days earlier. Police, however, maintained that the gathering had not been authorised.
The Indian Youth Congress also joined the protests. Its activists attempted to march from their office on Raisina Road towards Jantar Mantar under the leadership of president Uday Bhanu Chib. Police stopped the march, while the organisation had also announced plans to surround the Election Commission office.
Chib said the Election Commission was responsible for protecting the sanctity of every vote and that questions surrounding the electoral rolls required answers and accountability.
Police detained groups of protesters attempting to reach Jantar Mantar and took them to different police stations, including in Badarpur and north Delhi. A separate group continued protesting around Janpath after being prevented from moving towards Parliament Street and Jantar Mantar.
Security measures also affected public transport. Entry and exit at several Delhi Metro stations, including Jantar Mantar, Rajiv Chowk and Central Secretariat, were temporarily closed. Internet services were also suspended around the protest area, according to reports.
Meanwhile, the Cockroach Janata Party announced a “jail bharo” protest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park over the same issue, demanding Kumar’s resignation and alleging irregularities in the SIR process.
