Opposition Leaders Detained in Delhi During Protest Over Electoral Roll Revision.
New Delhi:
Several prominent INDIA bloc leaders, including former chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar, were detained by Delhi Police on Saturday while attempting to join a protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls.
The protest, called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, witnessed heavy security deployment, barricading and restrictions on movement across the national capital.
Other detained leaders included CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby, veteran Left leader Brinda Karat, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, activist Yogendra Yadav and lawyer Prashant Bhushan. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was also reportedly detained from his Gurugram residence. Reports said Delhi Police detained more than 7,000 protesters across the city.
Around 35,000 Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed at multiple locations, while drones were reportedly used to monitor movements towards the protest site. Jantar Mantar remained largely deserted amid the extensive security arrangements, according to police.
The United Nations human rights office expressed concern over the mass detentions, urging Indian authorities to respect the right to peaceful assembly and immediately release anyone arbitrarily detained.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urged young people to continue protesting, asserting that the government would be defeated for allegedly attacking the Constitution. Opposition leaders in Maharashtra, including NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Sanjay Raut and Aaditya Thackeray, and Congress leader Nana Patole, condemned the police action.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk warned that he could launch an indefinite fast or a march if those detained were not released by Sunday. He described the situation as an “undeclared emergency.”
Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee criticised the detentions and expressed concern over reports that Vijayan had been moved around Delhi in a police vehicle for nearly two hours.
