Protests entered a second consecutive day at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, directed at Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. A procession that included senior advocate Kapil Sibal, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, and All India Students' Association president Neha Bora made its way toward the gathering.
Two points of contention were at the centre of the demonstrations: procedural disputes surrounding the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, and a demand from those present that Kumar vacate his position. The claims put forward by organisers and protesters, taken alone, do not amount to evidence that any wrongdoing took place.
Delhi Police stated that Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, continued to apply throughout the New Delhi district. A police notice listed the activities placed under restriction, which included public assemblies, open-air speeches, chanting of slogans, marches, protests, and sit-in demonstrations. Authorities additionally noted that the demonstration set for 3 October had not been authorised, and that the New Delhi district police had received no advance notice of the planned gathering. Those who breach the order face the prospect of prosecution.
Dispersal orders went out over police loudspeakers as officers moved through the gathering site, detaining people who had assembled there.
Yogendra Yadav, who heads Swaraj India, stated his intention to take part in the gathering planned for the protest's second day. Writing via an X post, he put forward the view that peaceful protest stands as a right within any functioning democracy.
A fresh round of protests got under way on Saturday, a day after a mobilisation that saw roughly 1,000 people taken into custody across Delhi, based on figures cited by a broadcast news outlet. Close to 750 people were taken into custody from the vicinity of Jantar Mantar, with a further 400 apprehended at various locations across Delhi, and a number of individuals placed under restrictions at their homes. Because these numbers capture overlapping data, treating them as components of a single combined total would produce a misleading result.
Among those taken into custody on Friday were Atishi, the former chief minister of Delhi, alongside Neha Bora, Yogendra Yadav, a number of AAP members, civil society representatives, student groups, and workers affiliated with the Congress party's youth wing. At the Jantar Mantar gathering on Friday, a force of over 5,000 personnel had been positioned throughout the area to maintain security.
Three FIRs tied to the protests from the previous day were taken up by Delhi Police. Speaking at a Saturday rally, TMC's Mahua Moitra urged people to attend the protest in larger numbers.
Connectivity around Jantar Mantar appeared to be holding up on Saturday, a contrast to the previous day, when telecom providers had been directed to halt services across the New Delhi district for a set window of time. Tightened security measures and movement controls across central Delhi formed the backdrop against which the latest round of demonstrations unfolded.
