CJP leaders will meet Delhi Police today to seek a date for a peaceful demonstration at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. Protests against alleged electoral fraud are continuing, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demands for more accountability from the Election Commission of India.
CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka and party leaders Saurav Das and legal head Ratna Singh will visit Parliament Street Police Station at 10 am to seek permission for the demonstration. The move follows the release of three senior CJP leaders who were detained at Delhi airport a day earlier.
CJP Looking for date for peaceful protest.
Ranka announced the meeting in a post on X yesterday, and said the party would formally approach the police to secure a date for its proposed protest at Jantar Mantar. The party has maintained that it intends to hold a peaceful demonstration against Kumar.
Ranka also said the party would consider its next course of action if the police did not provide a date promptly. Delhi Police could give the demonstration date within 24 hours, he said, if the CJP would issue another protest call.
The meeting is coming at a time of increased political tension in the capital with demonstrators upset about the electoral process and the handling of protests against the Election Commission. The party’s demand for a designated protest date will surely have an impact on the way in which the demonstration goes.
Jantar Mantar is a designated place for public demonstrations in Delhi. But protests at the venue are subject to permissions, security arrangements and police directions.
Opposition parties will march to Supreme Court
Meanwhile, opposition parties will march to the Supreme Court later today to raise concerns over alleged electoral malpractice, commonly described by political leaders as "vote chori."
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge had sought a meeting with Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant to express their concerns. But the CJI declined the request, citing the pending cases before the Supreme Court concerning the matter.
The new Opposition's initiative is related to the Election Commission and electoral procedures. It is concerned about police action against protesters demanding Kumar's resignation, asking for an early hearing of cases related to the SIR exercise and questions about the committee responsible for recommending appointments to the Election Commission.
The proposed march highlights the ongoing political debate on electoral administration and constitutional institutions. Opposition leaders have disputed these claims and the Election Commission has defended its decision-making process.
Security measures in Delhi intensified.
The latest developments follow a series of demonstrations and detentions in the national capital. The information said that they detained more than 7,000 protesters as security measures were being beefed up to prevent a mass demonstration at Jantar Mantar demanding Kumar's resignation.
Among those detained were CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke and many political figures, including former chief ministers. The huge number of arrests also had protest organisers calling for more protests in the future to make their point.
Security personnel were deployed in different parts of Lutyens’ Delhi so that sensitive areas could be restricted and demonstrators could be kept away. Jantar Mantar, they say, was largely empty throughout the day as authorities prevented protesters from assembling for the planned demonstration.
Police detained more than 200 demonstrators who raised slogans and marched towards Jantar Mantar on Sunday. A number of demonstrators were detained in police buses as the CJP-led protest continued for a second day. Detentions were also reported from different locations into the evening.
The developments have put protest permissions and police action at the heart of the dispute. The meeting between CJP representatives and Delhi Police is to set up a date for a demonstration at the proposed venue.
Why is Gyanesh Kumar's resignation being demanded so quickly and so much in protest?
The protests have been largely because the Election Commission has been criticized for its handling of electoral matters (especially electoral rolls) and the SIR. The revision also has brought political polarization over voter-list accuracy, verification procedures and the implications for people who are eligible to vote.
The controversy has also intensified after it was reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections on at least 14 occasions over a period of 10 months on some decisions and orders. Some decisions were allegedly made without their knowledge, according to the reports.
However, the Election Commission has maintained that decisions taken by the three-member poll panel in the SIR exercise were unanimous.
The allegations and the Commission’s response have become part of a political dispute over electoral transparency and institutional accountability. Opposition parties and protest organisers have called for scrutiny of the process, while the Commission has defended its functioning.
As CJP leaders are going to meet Delhi Police, it is to be seen if they can plan a date for the peaceful demonstration at Jantar Mantar. The Opposition's planned march to the Supreme Court has also added to the political drama of the day and will be an issue of the day’s political debate in which electoral procedure, protest rights and the Election Commission’s decisions will be the focus.
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