New Delhi, Oct 10 (NVI) Thousands of people protesting against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar tried to reach Jantar Mantar in Delhi today but the police made extensive efforts to stop them.
Delhi Police detained more than 3,000 protesters, including several leaders of political parties and activist group Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) which had given a call for the agitation today.
The protesters were detained across the New Delhi area and other districts, where police are using drones to monitor movement of people attempting to reach the protest site.
The protesters were detained from several places, including near Regal Cinema, Minto Bridge and near Akashwani Bhawan.
CJP founder Abhijit Dipke and leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained inside their aircraft after they landed in Delhi from Mumbai for the proposed protest.
Police also detained AAP national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, TMC leader and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar.
AISA president Neha Bora, activists Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan were detained near INA Market while attempting to march to Jantar Mantar.
YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained at his residence in Gurugram ahead of the proposed CJP protest. Rathee, who lives abroad, had travelled to India to join the demonstration against the CEC.
Ahead of the proposed protest, over 600 people were also detained across all the districts of the national capital as part of preventive measures.
Amid Delhi Police’s crackdown on protesters in the national capital, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged that India is “not a democracy” anymore but a “dictatorship” run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
The Congress general secretary said all those who are colluding with them to subvert democracy are committing treason against the nation.
“First they rough up 254 MPs and detain them completely illegally, infringing on their basic constitutional rights; they do the same to other protesters from Opposition parties, Priyanka Gandhi said.
“Then they lay siege to the national capital, barricading it and sealing it on all sides, stopping trains and metros, cutting the internet and placing check posts all over. They bash up and detain young men and women exercising their constitutional right to protest,” she said.
“If this isn’t proof that they have cheated the elections in collusion with the Election Commission, and are terrified that the illegitimacy of their government is being exposed and accountability is being demanded, then what is?” she said.
“India is not a democracy anymore. It is a dictatorship being run by Mr Narendra Modi and Mr Amit Shah,” she reiterated.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge lashed out at the Modi government over the detentions by Delhi police, saying it has turned the ‘mother of democracy’ into a ‘muzzled democracy’.
The Congress chief alleged that the cowardice of the BJP-RSS is on full display today.
“Our youth, students, lawyers, journalists, social activists, farm union leaders, You Tubers, content creators, everyone who is questioning this regime are being detained,” Kharge said on X.
“Modi government has turned the ‘Mother of Democracy’ into a ‘Muzzled Democracy’!” he said.
Detentions, arrests, jails, lathis and pellets cannot deter the people of India, the Congress chief asserted.
“Since the days of our Freedom struggle, the youth have been at the forefront of shaping the nation’s destiny,” he said.
The Congress Party, along with the united Opposition, will fight “this tyrannical regime, tooth and nail”, Kharge said.
“We shed our blood to win India’s freedom. We will continue to fight, with every ounce of our strength, to defend our Democracy, our Constitution and the fundamental rights of every Indian,” Kharge said.
BJP leader Sambit Patra said the protest was meant to take the city “hostage” and it turned out to be a “flop show”.
He accused Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi of spreading anarchy in cahoots with foreign powers.
It was a victory of democracy over the mobocracy, Patra said, after hundreds of youths and several politicians who headed to the Jantar Mantar protest site were detained by the police.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, Patra called Gandhi a “nalayak” leader, condemning his Friday remarks that President Droupadi Murmu did not deny the INDIA bloc’s “vote chori” allegation at a meeting. (NVI)
