Delhi saw an unprecedented clampdown on protestors demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner on Saturday with the detention of more than 7,000 individuals, closure of 45 metro stations, railway stations, and the detention of activisits Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, and others right from within an aircraft when they landed in the national capital.
Jantar Mantar, where the protest was supposed to be held, wore a deserted look throughout the day with the deployment of 30,000 police personnel.
A number of top opposition leaders were detained by the Delhi Police, including four former chief ministers – Pinarayi Vijayan, Manik Sarkar, Arvind Kejriwal, and Mamata Banerjee.
CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby, veteran Left leader Brinda Karat, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, activist Yogendra Yadav, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, and All India Students’ Association (AISA) president were also detained.
The police released all detainees late in the night except for the CJP leaders
The CJP held a press conference in the evening where they announced that they are launching a fresh protest on Sunday demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over his alleged irregularities in the electoral rolls.
The announcement was made by CJP leader Ajinkya Shinde. “”Every day, there will be marches to Jantar Mantar from now on, until Gyanesh Kumar is sacked as CEC,” Shinde said during the presser.
SFI general secretary Srijan Bhattacharyya said students would hold peaceful demonstrations and that places where they were stopped by police barricades would become their protest sites.
With the CJP announcing a fresh protest tomorrow, traffic curbs has been announced at 30 key points across Delhi.
According to an advisory issued by the Delhi Traffic Police late Saturday, diversions will be enforced from 6 am on Sunday, depending on the prevailing situation, and traffic movement may be affected around Jantar Mantar, Connaught Place, Mandi House, Patel Chowk and several other intersections in Central Delhi.
The affected stretches include the Ashoka Road-Jantar Mantar Road roundabout, Tolstoy Marg-Janpath crossing, Jai Singh Road-Sansad Marg crossing, Rail Bhawan roundabout, Patel Chowk, Gol Dak Khana and several intersections around Connaught Place.
Traffic movement may also be affected at Mandi House, the Minto Road-Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg junction, the Lodhi Road flyover, Neela Gumbad roundabout, the Samrat Hotel roundabout, the Sardar Patel Marg-Panchsheel Marg crossing and the underpasses beneath the Bhikaji Cama Place and Moti Bagh flyovers.
Commuters have been advised to avoid non-essential travel and allow extra time while travelling to railway stations, inter-state bus terminals and the airport through New Delhi and Central Delhi.
The traffic police said restrictions would be regulated or relaxed based on real-time assessments of the situation and urged commuters to follow updates through its official website and social media platforms.
With PTI inputs
