New Delhi, Oct. 2 -- Separate protests are taking place in Delhi and Mumbai on Friday, October 2, over the functioning of the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), student organisations and Opposition-linked groups are seeking the resignation or removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
In Delhi, demonstrators are gathering around Jantar Mantar despite Delhi Police denying permission for the protest. Security has been stepped up across central Delhi, with barricades placed on roads leading towards the protest site and restrictions imposed on movement in the area.
Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita are in force in the New Delhi district. The order restricts public gatherings, demonstrations, processions, picketing and dharnas without prior written permission. Slogans and speeches are also restricted without permission.
The security arrangements include additional police and central forces in the New Delhi area. Authorities have also announced traffic restrictions and diversions around Jantar Mantar, Parliament Street, Tolstoy Marg and adjoining roads. Eleven Metro stations in central Delhi have also been closed as part of the security measures.
The Delhi demonstration has support from student and civil-society groups, including the All India Students' Association. AISA president Neha Bora, advocate Prashant Bhushan and RJD MP Manoj Jha are among those associated with the call for the demonstration. The groups have raised concerns about the Election Commission's handling of electoral rolls and the SIR exercise and are seeking action against the Chief Election Commissioner.
The CJP is holding a separate programme in Mumbai. Its founder Abhijeet Dipke has announced a protest at Shivaji Park and is demanding Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. Dipke has said the programme would subsequently extend to other parts of the country.
Mumbai Police has not granted permission for the proposed gathering at Shivaji Park. Authorities have cited restrictions arising from a 2013 Bombay High Court order and the site's status as a silence zone. Dipke was briefly detained at Marine Drive ahead of the announced programme, according to live updates.
The protests come amid an ongoing dispute over the Election Commission's handling of electoral rolls and SIR. Opposition parties and civil-society groups have raised allegations concerning voter deletions and the conduct of the revision exercise. These are political allegations, while the Election Commission has maintained that decisions of the full commission, including those related to SIR, have been unanimous.
The Opposition parties have also announced a wider programme of demonstrations concerning the Election Commission. Their programme includes district-level marches and other protests in the coming days, alongside demands concerning the electoral-roll revision process.
Security and traffic restrictions remain in force in parts of central Delhi as the demonstrations continue. Further developments are expected throughout the day.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.