Hanuman initially destroyed the Ashoka grove. He then killed the Kinkaras. Jambumali, the sons of Ravana’s ministers, and the army commanders were all defeated. He even killed Ravana’s son, Aksha Kumara, by smashing him against a rock. It was only after Indrajit invoked the Brahmastra that Hanuman’s fury was brought under control. The scenes unfolding in the national capital over the past two or three months bring to mind episodes from the Sundara Kanda of Valmiki’s Ramayana.
During July and August, the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) kept Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government under tremendous pressure. Modi was eventually compelled to remove Dharmendra Pradhan, a seasoned politician who had weathered numerous electoral battles, from the Union Cabinet. When the CJP announced that it would stage another protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the Modi government went on high alert. Two days before the proposed protest, the Border Security Force, armed police units, the Central Reserve Police Force, paramilitary forces, and the Rapid Action Force were deployed. It is estimated that private security forces also joined the operation, supplementing nearly 50,000 security personnel.
● Barricades at Every Turn.
The police resorted to lathi charges. For two or three days, New Delhi appeared to have come to a complete standstill. CJP leaders Abhijit Deepke, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Rankala were arrested while still aboard an aircraft and taken to different locations. Nearly 10,000 people were arrested in Delhi alone. Numerous online commentators and activists were also taken into custody. All metro stations were shut down, trains arriving in Delhi were cancelled, and internet services were suspended. Despite these restrictions, young men and women who made their way towards Connaught Place and Jantar Mantar were detained. The media was not spared either. To prevent detainees from escaping from buses, makeshift lockups fitted with iron bars were constructed inside them. These measures made it clear that the government feared the consequences of a massive youth uprising in the national capital. Even more astonishingly, banners announcing prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were put up at the Supreme Court, the country’s highest judicial institution. Police entered lawyers’ chambers in the vicinity of the Supreme Court and arrested advocates as well. Lawyers marching from the Supreme Court towards Mandi House were detained and taken to the Yamuna Complex. Senior advocate Dinesh Dwivedi was among those arrested. He is the brother of Rakesh Dwivedi, who represents the Election Commission. Senior advocate Gopal Shankar Narayan asked, ‘Did you even obtain permission to impose prohibitory orders inside and in front of the Supreme Court?’ Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant offered no response. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that he, too, was unaware of the prohibitory orders. The Supreme Court Bar Association, the High Court Bar Associations, and the Advocates-on-Record Association condemned the arrests. The lawyers were eventually released following the intervention of the Chief Justice of India.
Several lawyers cited the 2020 judgment delivered by Justice Ramana’s bench in the Anuradha Bhasin case, which held that suspending internet and telecommunications services in Jammu and Kashmir infringed constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights. In light of these arguments, CJI Surya Kant had to ask the Centre to lift the prohibitory orders imposed in Delhi. The agitation demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation appears to have sent shock waves all the way to the Supreme Court. Its inability to intervene at the appropriate time seems to have placed the institution on the defensive. Against this backdrop, on October 12, the INDIA alliance organised a protest march to the Supreme Court. The government largely remained a spectator.
● According to the Congress.
Despite the prohibitory orders, nearly 2,50,000 people reportedly participated in the four-hour-long protest in New Delhi. The gathering included not only Congress workers and activists from INDIA alliance constituents but also students, young people, and civil society members who responded to the Cockroach Janata Party’s call. The areas surrounding Connaught Place were packed with people. For the first time, the Congress party concentrated its entire organisational strength on a single protest. Thousands of party leaders and workers arrived in Delhi from different states. For the first time, Congress leaders appeared to fear that failing to reach Delhi might invite the displeasure of the party high command. It became evident that the march to the Supreme Court was merely a pretext. Rahul Gandhi’s real strategy was to revive the spirit of agitation and street-level resistance throughout the Congress organisation. Congress leaders who had spent their political lives seeking positions and lobbying for favours were compelled to work hard on the streets for the first time. When Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi confronted the police, resisted their attempts to stop them, crossed barricades, and pressed forward, how could Congress workers remain unmoved? In a sense, this was a moment that rekindled the spirit of activism throughout the Congress party. Rahul and Priyanka appeared determined to fan this initial spark into a larger flame. The protests were first taken to the Election Commission’s office and subsequently to the Supreme Court. It remains to be seen with what degree of commitment the Congress will implement its announced programmes in the states. The movement launched against alleged ‘vote theft’ will produce the desired results only if it gathers momentum and raises awareness among voters about their electoral rights. At the same time, there are no reliable benchmarks yet to determine how much the controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and the credibility of public institutions has damaged the reputations of Modi and the BJP. It is difficult to predict how long the deadlock surrounding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar will continue. If Gyanesh Kumar is forced to resign, the government could be seen as conceding the Opposition’s allegations of vote theft. Despite the Opposition’s protests and increasingly aggressive agitation, BJP leaders do not appear to have lost confidence in their ability to win elections through their organisational machinery, strategic planning, emotionally charged campaign issues, and social coalitions. Their strategy appears to be simple: as long as they continue winning elections, the Opposition will eventually lose steam.
There is little doubt that public life could become increasingly disrupted during this prolonged political confrontation. Removing Modi from power has become a matter of political survival for the Congress and other Opposition forces. The more aggressively these forces pursue their campaign, the greater the possibility that the government will resort to harsher measures. Train cancellations, metro station closures, prohibitory orders in public areas, traffic congestion, and internet restrictions will inevitably cause serious inconvenience to thousands of ordinary citizens. Political and public movements may spread beyond Delhi, particularly to the 22 NDA-governed states where the BJP and its allies hold power. The government is struggling to create the conditions for holding special sessions on delimitation. There is also a possibility that the winter session of Parliament, scheduled for November and December, could be disrupted. The crisis is unlikely to subside anytime soon and may instead intensify until the five state Assembly elections scheduled for next April. The government tried to prevent the protests but failed. Even after imposing prohibitory orders, it could not contain the protesters. It may be relatively easy to prevent Jantar Mantar from functioning as a protest venue, but that does not mean the government can stop the lava flowing from the volcano of public anger.
● The Torrent Has Found Another Course.
It is equally difficult to divert public opinion by portraying protests as attacks on patriotism and nationalism or by attributing them to foreign conspiracies. The present generation may not have experienced the Emergency, but an impression is growing among young people that an undeclared Emergency is now in force. When the government itself appears to be responsible for repression and violence, those in power must consider how the younger generation will perceive such actions in the age of social media. Those in authority must recognise that achieving a major political victory sometimes requires accepting smaller setbacks. Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation brought the chapter concerning the NEET paper leak to a close. Now, any decision regarding Gyanesh Kumar, who is becoming an increasingly heavy and difficult burden for the government with each passing day, must be taken with extreme caution. Otherwise, the government could find itself caught between two equally dangerous choices, with no easy way out.