As opposition parties prepare to march to the Supreme Court in protest at the disorder arising from a disputed move to revise the electoral rolls, the authorities have closed several metro stations in Delhi and warned of disruption to traffic.
Ahead of the march called by Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, thousands of police and security personnel were deployed in Delhi on Monday for the third day running. Metal barricades have been put up and key metro stations kept closed.
Supporters of the opposition parties and of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) have taken to the streets almost every day this month to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the revision of the rolls. Critics say the revision will benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Police have earlier detained thousands of people from the protests. CJP supporters were stopped when they tried to demonstrate.
The Election Commission of India (ECI), the body that runs voting in the world’s most populous country, has denied the allegations of irregularities.
Opposition leaders have accused the authorities of trying to suppress dissent through mass detentions.
John Brittas, a member of parliament from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), alleged that police “manhandled and dragged” him during Sunday’s protest.
“This is not only an attack on a member of parliament; it is also a blow to democratic freedom and the rule of law,” he said.
Several journalists covering the protests said they were detained even though they were clearly displaying their press cards.
The international NGO Reporters Without Borders said at least 16 journalists were “brutally” detained while covering the protests.
In a statement it said: “Covering events of public interest is not a crime. It is their professional duty. Police action against the media is unacceptable.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has called on his supporters to join Monday’s march to the Supreme Court, to press the demand for Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
In a message on X addressed to Home Minister Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi wrote: “Bring as many police as you like, 10,000, 20,000, 40,000, bring them. If necessary, call as many BJP-RSS goons as you need too. We are not ones to be afraid. We are not ones to step back. This fight will not stop now!”
CJP leaders and supporters have declared that they will carry on the movement until Gyanesh Kumar resigns.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report