Over 700 protesters were detained by Delhi Police at Jantar Mantar on Friday as demonstrations escalated, demanding the ouster of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR electoral rolls.
AAP leaders including Saurabh Bharadwaj, Sanjeev Jha, Atishi and Sanjay Singh were among those detained. Several activists of some students' unions were also detained.
AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh staged a sit-in protest on the road after being stopped from proceeding to Parliament. "I am a Member of Parliament...As a member, I had to raise the issue of alleged 'vote theft' in Parliament...How can you stop me?' Singh said.
Protesters at the site include members of political parties as well as student organisations, including the All India Students' Association (AISA), Students' Federation of India (SFI), and National Students' Union of India (NSUI).
AISA leader Neha Bora and activist Yogendra Yadav have also been detained.
While reacting to the protest in Delhi, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) said in a post on X, “Same old tactics, same old playbook. Roads blocked. Barricades installed. Metro stations shut. Thousands of police personnel deployed...All of this while, in the National Capital, women still don’t feel safe stepping out after sunset."
Bharadwaj, in a post on X, said he and Jha were detained despite the peaceful protest. He urged party workers and supporters to continue the agitation and reach Jantar Mantar.
Meanwhile, over 700 protesters from SFI, who attempted to reach the protest site, were stopped at the Ashoka Road roundabout.
SFI general secretary Aishe Ghosh said several DYFI and SFI activists have been detained.
"Delhi Police is not being able to stop crimes in the capital, but when it comes to protection of someone like Gyanesh Kumar, they get down on the streets," Ghosh said.
She added, "This is not democracy. If police think they can stop the movement by detaining us, we want to tell them that this is just the start."
In a video message, Bharadwaj said police told them that permission had not been granted for the protest, but questioned why permission was needed to hold a demonstration in a democracy when Jantar Mantar is a designated protest site.
He also said the party had submitted letters seeking protest permission about a week earlier.
