Several Opposition leaders, including former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal and former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, were detained by police on Saturday while attempting to join a protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar in the national capital.
The protest, called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), was organised over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with demonstrators demanding Kumar’s resignation.
Banerjee was detained along with five Trinamool Congress MPs from South Avenue in central Delhi after police stopped her from joining the demonstration. She had staged a sit-in at a bus stop, wearing a bandage over her mouth. Among the MPs detained were Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen. They were taken away in a police bus.
Speaking in a video statement from inside the bus, Banerjee accused the government of mistreating Opposition leaders.
“The government is misbehaving with us,” she said, adding, “We, the INDIA bloc, will continue to fight to strengthen people’s voice.”
Kejriwal was also detained shortly after attempting to leave his residence to join the protest. Delhi Police personnel had surrounded his home since the morning.
Speaking to reporters before his detention, the former Delhi Chief Minister alleged that restrictions were being imposed to prevent people from participating in the demonstration.
“There are police personnel and paramilitary forces everywhere. People are not being allowed to leave their homes…The police are picking people up as they walk on the streets. No one is being allowed to go anywhere,” he said.
Kejriwal alleged that the authorities were trying to suppress the issue of alleged vote theft. “They have created an atmosphere of authoritarianism across the country. Why?… They want to suppress this issue of ‘vote chori’ and continue doing it. But the people of this country will not allow this to happen,” he said.
He also claimed that several young people associated with the protest had been detained and urged citizens to travel to Delhi to join the movement.
“The youth of the country have risen. Today, CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurabh Das, along with Dhruv Rathee, Ratna Singh and others, have been detained. The youth of the country are very angry,” Kejriwal said.
“I request people to come to Delhi however they can to stop this vote chori; otherwise this country and this democracy won’t be saved,” he added.
Former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas and CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby were also detained. Police took Vijayan and Brittas to the detention centre at Chhatrasal Stadium.
Earlier, CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained at Indira Gandhi International Airport while travelling to Jantar Mantar to take part in the protest.
The demonstration centred on allegations of irregularities in the SIR exercise and the demand for CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
Bureau Report
protest against CECGyanesh kumar
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