New Delhi, October 2: Security was tightened in central Delhi on Friday ahead of a proposed protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Delhi Police denied permission for the demonstration and deployed additional personnel, including police and Rapid Action Force personnel, at Jantar Mantar.
Delhi Metro closed entry and exit gates at 11 stations, including Janpath, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Rajiv Chowk, Seva Teerth, Mandi House, Lok Kalyan Marg, INA, Chawri Bazar, Ramakrishna Ashram Marg and New Delhi. Interchange facilities remained available at Rajiv Chowk, Mandi House, INA, New Delhi and Central Secretariat.
The protest has been called by the All India Students’ Association (AISA), Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha and Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan. The organisers have demanded the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, alleging irregularities in electoral rolls and the conduct of elections.
DCP New Delhi Sachin Sharma said Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was in force in New Delhi and that protests, demonstrations and marches were not permitted. He urged people not to come to the area for demonstrations and said necessary security and traffic arrangements had been made.
The protest comes amid debate over the SIR exercise and the functioning of the Election Commission. The agitation followed a report by The Indian Express claiming that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on 14 occasions over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures linked to the SIR exercise and other electoral matters.