Jantar Mantar news: Several protesters seeking CEC Gyanesh Kumar's arrest over ‘dissent’ row detained
Here's the latest protest news from across India:
Jantar Mantar news: Security personnel detain an All India Students' Association (AISA) member during a protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar outside Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi. Jantar Mantar news: Several protesters seeking the arrest and resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar were as per reports detained by the Delhi Police during a protest at Jantar Mantar on Friday. TMC MP Mahua Moitra also joined the demonstration in the national capital. The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) marched from Raisina Road to Jantar Mantar, calling for Kumar's resignation. The Delhi unit of the All India Students' Association (AISA) also held a protest at Jantar Mantar. ...Read More
Adding to this, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, activist Yogendra Yadav and several other protesters were detained, news agency PTI reported, quoting protest organisers. AISA president Neha Bora also claimed on social media that she had been detained by the police. Nationwide protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar Congress workers staged protests in several states on Friday, with demonstrations reported in Delhi, Bihar, Assam, Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The protesters called for the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. In Delhi, Congress workers gathered at Jantar Mantar and raised slogans against Kumar as part of the party's nationwide protest. In Assam, state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and several senior party leaders were detained while trying to cross police barricades during the demonstration, police shared. Mahua Moitra joins Jantar Mantar protest TMC MP Mahua Moitra joined the protest at Jantar Mantar on Friday, where demonstrators were demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. In conversation with reporters at the protest, Moitra alleged that Kumar was "a criminal" and "needs to be prosecuted". She also called for his resignation. "Gyanesh Kumar is a criminal and he needs to be prosecuted. He needs to resign", she shared. Moitra also shared police deployment would not stop the protesters. "The police is going to stop the protestors... The SIR process has to stop," she told news agency ANI. Why Gyanesh Kumar is under fire: The ‘dissent’ row explained The protests come after an Indian Express investigation reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on record at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders they shared were taken without their knowledge. The objections came as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was being carried out under the supervision of the full commission. According to the report, the objections included changes to the statutory voter registration Form 6, the process of adding and removing names from electoral rolls, and the centralised control of the electoral roll database. The Election Commission has maintained that differences of opinion and observations are a normal part of deliberations within an institution. The poll panel has also shared that its orders have full legal sanction and are issued in accordance with established statutory procedures. CJP threatens nationwide protest on October 2 The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has shared it will launch nationwide protests from October 2 if Kumar does not resign by Saturday. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke opened up that the protest would begin in Mumbai on Gandhi Jayanti and then spread to cities across India. “If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by tomorrow, CJP will begin its nationwide protest from Mumbai on 2 October, and take it to cities across India,” Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke shared.
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Notably, Jantar Mantar news LIVE: Here are the key developments so far:
As per the latest buzz, Jantar Mantar news LIVE: With the SIR row continuing, the Congress on Friday alleged that the Election Commission had launched an "unprecedented attack" on voter equality by introducing a dedicated 'Mark VIP' option in the BLO Application. The party also called on CEC Gyanesh Kumar to turn "approver" or face trial.
In further updates, Pawan Khera, head of the Congress' media and publicity department, shared all decisions taken by Kumar, including the SIR, were "null and void".
On top of that, "We want to say to Gyanesh Kumar, it's done bro. Heed Rahul Gandhi's advice -- resign and turn approver," Khera shared, adding that Kumar would have to be prepared to face trial if he refused to do so.
Jantar Mantar news LIVE: The Delhi Police detained several protesters at Jantar Mantar on Friday who were demanding the arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the electoral process and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, organisers told news agency PTI.
Source: Hindustan Times