Delhi protests over SIR: Tiranga marches, Abhijeet Dipke's detention and Opposition pushback

New Delhi: Hundreds of protesters, including student activists and Opposition leaders, staged flash demonstrations across central Delhi on Friday, carrying the national flag and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities. The protests unfolded amid a massive security deployment, with police detaining around 150 demonstrators during the gatherings and a planned ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march.

The demonstrations, organised in response to a call by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), spread across Connaught Place, Palika Bazaar and Mandi House. Protesters raised slogans, waved the Tricolour and demanded the withdrawal of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The CJP had planned to hold the march at Central Park in Connaught Place at 5 pm. However, Delhi Police denied permission, citing prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which restrict mass gatherings in Connaught Place and adjoining areas.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke was detained while leaving his residence in the Jhandewalan area to join the protest. He was detained from the residence of Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) spokesperson Anish Gawande ahead of the planned march.

A police official informed Dipke that he was being placed under preventive detention, citing the restrictions in force in Connaught Place.

Central Park remained closed to the public on Friday and Saturday as security arrangements were tightened. More than 6,000 Delhi Police personnel and 220 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), each comprising around 100 personnel, were deployed in the New Delhi area to prevent any law and order situation.

Tiranga raised across Connaught Place, Palika Bazaar

Carrying a giant Tricolour, a group of protesters took several rounds of Connaught Place's inner circle, while others climbed barricades with flags, banners and placards.

Slogans such as ‘Jai Hind’, ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ and ‘Gyanesh Kumar, ab tumhari baari hai’ echoed across the commercial hub as demonstrators moved between locations, dispersing and regrouping while police personnel attempted to clear the area.

Placards carried messages including ‘SIR band karo, vote chori band karo’, ‘Who deleted my vote’ and ‘Police violence is not an accident’. Some demonstrators sang the national anthem, while others raised slogans against the Election Commission and demanded action over the revision of electoral rolls.

The protests and security restrictions disrupted commercial activity in Connaught Place and Palika Bazaar, with traders expressing frustration over the impact on their businesses. Police personnel moved through the inner circle to disperse crowds and ease congestion caused by protesters and onlookers.

Among those participating was 21-year-old Taksh, a student of DY Patil University in Mumbai, who wore a red lehenga and carried a placard reading, ‘Gyanesh Kumar jaldi istifa do, shaadi ka muhurat nikalta jaa raha hai’.

Taksh said he had been in Delhi for a month to participate in the protests and was attending university classes online. He added that he had bought the lehenga for Rs 2,000.

Minor altercations broke out as police attempted to disperse demonstrators. Journalists and independent YouTube reporters covered the protests, with some independent reporters being heckled.

John Brittas says protesters defied police restrictions

Workers of the Students' Federation of India (SFI), Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), All India Students' Federation (AISF) and All India Youth Federation (AIYF) participated in a Tiranga March in Delhi.

Students and members of SFI and the All India Students' Association (AISA) also gathered at Mandi House, demanding Kumar's resignation, a rollback of the SIR exercise and the withdrawal of the Election Commissioner Appointment Act, 2023.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas and CPI MP Sandosh Kumar joined the march alongside members of the Democratic Youth Federation of India.

Brittas said the demonstrators had reached Connaught Place despite the restrictions imposed by Delhi Police.

“They have said nobody will be permitted to reach CP. We have reached here. We have reached the central part. We have defied the Delhi Police; we have defied their ban. We have upheld the Tricolour. Let them do what they can do,” Brittas said.

AAP leaders and workers also joined the demonstrations outside Central Park as protesters pressed ahead with the planned rally despite the denial of permission.

Mamata Banerjee condemns Dipke's detention

Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the detention of CJP activist Abhijeet Dipke, questioning the police action in a post on X.

“Abhijeet Dipke has been detained for holding the Indian National Flag. Let that sink in. In Independent India, our youth are being detained for peacefully asserting their democratic rights,” she said.

Describing the situation as an “undeclared emergency”, Banerjee accused the government of attempting to intimidate young people and suppress dissent.

“A government that fears dissent is now trying to intimidate an entire generation into silence. This is the conduct of a fascist regime that cannot tolerate a voice it cannot control,” she said.

Referring to Dipke and fellow activists Ashutosh and Saurav, Banerjee said they represented the courage, conscience and aspirations of India's youth. She added that an entire generation could not be silenced by suppressing its voice.

“WAKE UP, INDIA! The fight for democracy, freedom and the right to dissent will continue,” she said.

The demonstrations come amid a broader Opposition campaign against the SIR exercise and allegations of ‘vote chori’. Opposition leaders, student organisations and activists have demanded accountability from the Election Commission and challenged the revision of electoral rolls.