NEW DELHI — India’s federal home ministry has removed Jantar Mantar, a historic landmark in the center of New Delhi long associated with public demonstrations, from its list of designated protest venues, authorities confirmed this week.
The policy change occurred immediately after leaders from the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party visited police on Monday to seek permission for a demonstration. According to party co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka, the ministry revoked the site’s status roughly 30 minutes after members formally requested a date to assemble. Officials have instead selected three alternate locations in the capital where rallies may take place with prior government approval, BBC News reported.
Massive Security Mobilization in the Capital
The government’s venue shift followed intense security clampdowns across New Delhi over the weekend. In an effort to thwart planned demonstrations, authorities shut down multiple metro stations, halted train services, and erected barricades across several key roadways, including Parliament Street and Firoz Shah Road. Police deployed loudspeakers to warn commuters that public gatherings were banned under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, The Times of India reported.
Police detained thousands of participants, including independent journalists, over the weekend, BBC News reported. Video footage and photographs showed officers forcing protesters, including women, into transport buses. In a formal petition to law enforcement, party officials claimed more than 55,000 police and paramilitary personnel had been mobilized across the city, causing significant disruptions to daily commerce and transit.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke was among those detained ahead of a scheduled rally on Saturday before being freed the following day, according to BBC News. Dipke founded the organization in May after a remark by India’s chief justice compared unemployed youths to insects, The Guardian reported.
Dispute Over Electoral Rolls
The youth-led movement has rallied public opposition against alleged irregularities surrounding voter lists in recent state contests. Demonstrators have demanded the resignation of India’s election chief following claims that more than 130 million names were purged from voter rolls to aid Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, according to The Guardian. The Election Commission of India has denied the allegations, though some individual commissioners have voiced worries regarding voters being scrubbed without notification.
In West Bengal, where Muslims constitute about 27 percent of the 100 million residents, the BJP secured its first state election win after 2.7 million voters were struck from rolls, The Guardian reported. In multiple contests won by the ruling party, the volume of removed or challenged names exceeded the final margin of victory.
Protesters Vow to Continue Campaign
Party leaders strongly criticized the revocation of the demonstration site, accusing the federal government of trying to suppress democratic dissent rather than resolving electoral questions.
“Protesting peacefully is our democratic right,” co-convenor Saurav Das said, describing the sweeping security response to The Times of India as an excessive campaign against regular citizens.
The party delivered a 24-hour ultimatum to Delhi Police on Monday to provide an approved date for their gathering, while demanding that law enforcement scale back security cordons and cease detentions. It remains unclear whether police will permit the movement to assemble at any of the three newly designated locations or whether further unsanctioned demonstrations will proceed across the capital.
