An AAP protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar escalated in Delhi, with workers breaching barricades and blocking detainee buses. The confrontation prompted heavy police and Rapid Action Force deployment as protesters moved towards Jantar Mantar.
Around 15 Delhi Police personnel were injured and about 110 people were detained as Sunday’s protest at Jantar Mantar demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation turned tense, police said.
Demonstrators broke barricades and blocked buses carrying detainees as security personnel tried to clear the area. Police said they were arranging medical examinations for the injured personnel.
AAP workers, members of its student wing ASAP, NSUI workers, AISA activists and other organisations joined the demonstrations, which took place amid heavy police and paramilitary deployment across central Delhi.
The protests come amid a wider controversy over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Visuals from the protest showed AAP workers blocking buses carrying people detained during the demonstration as security personnel tried to clear the area.
The situation escalated when protesters broke through barricades and moved towards Jantar Mantar. Delhi Police and the Rapid Action Force were deployed as security personnel attempted to stop the protesters from advancing.
Women protesters were also seen climbing on top of a vehicle as the situation grew tense.
AAP WORKERS DETAINED
More than a dozen AAP workers were detained during the protest at India Gate, including Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj and MLA Sanjeev Jha.
A police officer said at least 25 AAP workers were detained during the demonstration.
Bharadwaj alleged that Delhi Police manhandled him during the protest.
“They are picking me up and throwing me around like I am a football… There is such a large police force here, yet they are not even registering an FIR against their own ACP, nor are they arresting the ACP,” he said.
Bharadwaj also shared a photograph on X, saying he had been turned upside down by Delhi Police at India Gate to hide his face from cameras.
“These are my shoes in the air,” he said.
Jha said those in power could not escape questions and concerns raised by people over voting rights.
He said such concerns should be addressed through “transparency and facts”, rather than through “silence, pressure or police action”.
STUDENT GROUPS JOIN PROTEST
The protest was not limited to AAP workers.
NSUI workers also held a demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his resignation. The protesters were later detained by police.
Members of AISA and other organisations also marched near Ashoka Road, raising slogans against Kumar and demanding his resignation.
AISA members alleged that the organisation’s national president Neha Bora was picked up by Delhi Police in a private vehicle without an official number plate during the protest march near Jantar Mantar.
They further alleged that no woman police officer was present inside the vehicle when Bora was taken away and called it a violation of procedure.
There was no immediate reaction from Delhi Police to the allegations.
Visuals from the protest showed Bora attempting to climb over a barricade as police officials tried to stop her.
AISA activists had attempted to return to Jantar Mantar for the third consecutive day, even as the area remained heavily barricaded and secured by police.
The mobilisation began from Andhra Bhawan Circle on Ashoka Road, with protesters marching towards Jantar Mantar and raising slogans.
Protesters and security personnel briefly clashed as police tried to prevent them from crossing the barricades.
OVER 500 DETAINED IN EARLIER PROTESTS
Sunday’s mobilisation came a day after more than 150 protesters were detained in Delhi.
More than 500 protesters, including student activists and political leaders, were detained during demonstrations in central Delhi on Friday. AAP leaders, Neha Bora and activist Yogendra Yadav were among those detained on Friday.
Police had denied permission for Friday’s gathering and deployed additional personnel across central Delhi.
Several roads leading towards Jantar Mantar were barricaded, while access to some metro stations in the area was temporarily restricted during the earlier protests.
The latest demonstration also took place under heightened security, with police personnel deployed at multiple points and barricades placed to regulate the movement of protesters.
PROTESTS OVER SIR PROCESS
The demonstrations demanding Kumar’s resignation come amid a wider political controversy over the SIR of electoral rolls.
The latest mobilisation follows an Indian Express investigation claiming that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders concerning the SIR that they said were issued without their knowledge or recommendation.
The Election Commission, facing criticism over the alleged objections raised by the two commissioners, has said differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberations within any institution.
The poll panel has also said that all its orders carry full legal sanction and follow established statutory procedures.
Meanwhile, protests against Kumar have continued in Delhi, with opposition parties and student organisations demanding his resignation over alleged irregularities in the electoral roll revision process.
Article source: indiatoday.in
