NEW DELHI: Hundreds of protesters staged a ‘People’s Parliament’ on Ashoka Road on Friday after security forces blocked their march to the Election Commission of India (ECI) office, detaining several of them. The march began near Gole Dak Khana, with demonstrators waving national flags and raising slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
In a related development, the Delhi High Court rejected a petition filed by AISA president Neha Bora challenging a police notice directing her to execute a personal bond of Rs 10,000 and “maintain peace”. Bora was detained on October 16 while attending a gathering at Mandi House. Justice Subramonium Prasad, however, directed the concerned magistrate to furnish all relevant material to Bora and consider the scope of Section 135 of BNSS, particularly whether the bond could be demanded at the outset or only during the inquiry.
During the day, multiple layers of barricades, manned by hundreds of personnel from the Delhi Police, CRPF and Rapid Action Force, blocked the route to the ECI office. Stopped at the barricades, protesters sat on the road and held their ‘People’s Parliament’. The road in front of the ECI office wore a deserted look, but the area across the barricades was packed with protesters, security personnel and journalists.
Police repeatedly announced that Section 163 of the BNSS, prohibiting mass gatherings, was in force and urged protesters to leave. Security personnel then began pushing them back. Near Sacred Heart Cathedral, police started detaining protesters and putting them on buses, picking up those raising slogans, holding placards and giving media interviews.
Several protesters resisted, accusing police of arbitrary action, while others continued shouting slogans through the buses’ netted windows. The police also argued with journalists. In one instance, security personnel tried to detain a child waving the national flag but let the kid go after protesters intervened.