New Delhi, 02 October (H.S.): A protest continued at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Friday, with opposition parties demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and calling for a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. Members of Left parties, the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and several other organisations staged a sit-in at the site. Police detained several people, including several leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Student organisations had announced a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, demanding action over issues concerning the functioning of the Election Commission and the manner in which matters related to electoral rolls are being handled. Police said permission had not been granted for the protest. Despite this, social activists and student organisations, 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), called for the demonstration. As prohibitory orders were in force in the area, police took action to prevent the gathering of people without permission.

In view of the protest call, additional police personnel were deployed at Jantar Mantar and in adjoining areas. Since this morning, around 11 metro stations across Delhi have been closed. These are stations that provide convenient access to Jantar Mantar. Police have also put up barricades at several locations to prevent any untoward incident. Internet services in the area have also been suspended in view of the protest.

During the demonstration, more than 1,100 protesters, including Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Sanjay Singh, were detained. Neha Bora, national president of the All India Students’ Association, was also detained. Police also detained Yogendra Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Manoj Jha. Meanwhile, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was stopped near North Avenue while he was attempting to proceed towards the protest site. Police prevented him from moving further.

The protest was organised following allegations against Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the deletion of names of a large number of voters. The protesters have demanded his resignation.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar