NEW DELHI: The protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged election irregularities continued on Thursday even as heavy rain lashed the city.
The security forces braced for Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) “Lehra do Tiranga (unfurl the tricolour)” march on October 16 in Connaught Place. They detained several people affiliated with the All India Students Federation (AISF) and the All India Youth Federation (AIYF) near Gol Dak Khana during a protest march.
The protesters were put into a police bus even as they raised slogans of “Vande Mataram”. Some of them later slipped through the windows.
The protesters said they marched from Connaught Place, carrying the Indian flag as part of a “Tiranga March”. It came amid a series of demonstrations by student groups and political organisations against Kumar over allegations of voter deletions and demands for accountability from the Election Commission.
Another cause of the protest has been the denotification of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest side. People have been resisting the move.
The detentions came a day before the “Lehra do Tiranga” march called by CJP co-founder Abhijeet Dipke at Central Park, Connaught Place on Friday.
Besides, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) on Thursday launched a Delhi-wide campaign against the alleged deletion of eligible voters’ names from electoral rolls, demanding the withdrawal of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process as well as the resignation of Kumar.
The DYFI also said it will participate in the ‘Tiranga March’ scheduled for Friday at CP.
Put in a police bus
The protesters were put into a police bus even as they raised slogans of “Vande Mataram”. Some of them later slipped through the windows. They said they marched from Connaught Place, carrying the Indian flag as part of a “Tiranga March”.
