New Delhi, protests continued for the second day at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Delhi Police detained several protesters who were marching towards Jantar Mantar. Among them were AISA national president Neha Bora, Swaraj India member Yogendra Yadav, and several student activists. Both of them were also taken into custody during Friday’s protests. Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal and lawyer Prashant Bhushan also attended Saturday’s protests. As soon as they crossed the first barricades near Jantar Mantar, police stopped all of them and took them away in a bus. Meanwhile, police said that no one had taken permission to hold protests at Jantar Mantar on either of these two days. Even while being detained, Bora and others did not stop raising slogans. Meanwhile, security has been tightened in central Delhi in view of the ongoing protests at Jantar Mantar. Prohibitory orders have been issued in the New Delhi district. Nearly five thousand police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed. Barricades have been set up in stages. Police registered three FIRs against unidentified persons in connection with Friday’s protests. These FIRs were registered over such matters as disobeying orders issued by a government employee in the discharge of duty, obstructing them from performing their duties, and criminally using force against them.
● Protest is a democratic right – Abhijit Deepke.
CJP convener Abhijit Deepke condemned the Delhi Police for taking student protesters into custody. He posted this on social media platform X on Saturday. Deepke announced that they would hold a protest at Jantar Mantar on the 10th of this month demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Deepke also said that students would attend this second phase of the struggle in large numbers. He demanded that Delhi Police stop suppressing students and activists. He said that protest is a right guaranteed by the Constitution. He warned that if those protesting peacefully are suppressed, more people will take to the streets. Likewise, expressing dissent is a democratic right. He said it cannot be suppressed through threats or the use of force.
● Call to burn effigies of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
CITU (Centre of Indian Trade Unions), AIKS (All India Kisan Sabha), and AIAWU (All India Agricultural Workers Union) have called for effigies of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to be burnt across the country on the 10th of this month to protect democracy and the right to vote. In a joint statement issued on Saturday, the three organisations urged workers, farmers, and rural workers to hold torch processions in villages and colonies and demand his immediate removal from office. The organisations demanded that a case be registered against Gyanesh Kumar and that he be investigated for illegally implementing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and depriving 13.8 crore voters across the country of their right to vote. They criticised this non-transparent action as evidence of criminal interference in the country’s electoral process. The statement said that among the crores who have lost their right to vote, poor workers, minorities, and oppressed sections constitute the majority, and that this was done at the behest of the ruling BJP.
● Asking citizens themselves to prove their eligibility to vote is unconstitutional.
The organisations alleged that a selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister, and Leader of the Opposition appointed Gyanesh Kumar, and that this was contrary to the Supreme Court’s directions that the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, and Chief Justice of India should be part of it. They demanded that the CEC and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act-2023 be amended to include the Chief Justice of India in place of the Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister. The organisations reminded that the government machinery and the Election Commission of India (ECI) have a statutory responsibility to ensure that every eligible citizen can vote safely and freely. They stated that placing the burden of proving eligibility to vote on citizens is unconstitutional. They demanded that the SIR process and the amendment made to Form 6 be stopped immediately, and that the voting rights of all citizens removed from the electoral rolls through SIR be restored immediately. They said SIR is a political conspiracy to destroy the democratic system and that people have lost faith in the ECI. They stated that the Modi government and the RSS-BJP leadership are directly responsible for the crisis that has arisen in the electoral process. They called on working people to participate in the united protest movements taking shape across the country against the authoritarian Modi government, which continues attacks on the Constitution and the democratic rights of citizens. The joint statement was signed by CITU general secretary Elamaram Kareem, AIKS general secretary Viju Krishnan, and AIAWU general secretary B Venkat.