NEW DELHI | The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s protest at Jantar Mantar demanding Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over concerns surrounding the electoral rolls was met with mass detentions, including senior AAP leaders and hundreds of karyakartas. Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj, Delhi Assembly Leader of Opposition (LoP) Atishi, MLAs Sanjeev Jha, Jarnail Singh and Kuldeep Kumar, and AAP National Media In-charge Anurag Dhanda were among those detained as police action intensified around the protest site.
The crackdown has raised a fundamental question from AAP: if citizens cannot peacefully protest over concerns about their votes and the electoral process, what space remains for democratic dissent?
Senior AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia wrote on X, “The protest is against Gyanesh Kumar, and Amit Shah is engaged in crushing this protest. Today, the Delhi Police is determined to suppress every voice demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.”
Meanwhile, AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj stated, “Holding a protest is our constitutional right. The police and the government are saying that permission for the protest was not granted, but why would the government grant permission for a protest against itself? Jantar Mantar is a designated site for protests where no separate permission is required. Even then, the AAP formally informed the police and submitted an application around 6 days ago. If the police now chooses to sit on it without taking any decision, that is its prerogative. Peaceful protests will be held in different cities across the country today, and their echo will be heard throughout the nation.”
He further stated, “There are around 10 to 15 police personnel, along with the SHO, sitting outside my house. I sent them a message and also made a video in the morning informing them that I am not at home, so they should carry out their duty, but they have continued to remain there. The house of Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh has been placed under the watch of the CRPF and Delhi Police, while police have also been deployed outside the homes of other leaders.”
“But this is not a movement of leaders; it is a movement of the common people. Even if leaders are detained or arrested by the police, the people must still come here and register their presence. This movement has no single leader. Every boy, every girl, every Gen-Z youngster, every elderly person and every mother is a leader of this movement,” he asserted.
On the other hand, senior AAP leader and Delhi Assembly LoP Atishi stated, “We were holding a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar to protect the country’s democracy and our right to vote. PM Modi’s Delhi Police has detained us from Jantar Mantar. From there, the Delhi Police has brutally kept AAP leaders and workers in detention at Fatehpur Beri Police Station. PM Modi, we are not going to be afraid of your police. We will continue to fight to protect the right to vote. The fight against ‘vote chori’ will continue. The system in the Election Commission will have to be set right, and Gyanesh Kumar will have to resign. ‘vote chori’ will not be allowed.”
AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha wrote on X, “I have been arrested for participating in a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar against Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Today, on Gandhi Jayanti, is holding a peaceful protest while remembering Mahatma Gandhi’s truth, non-violence and democratic values also a crime?”
AAP MLA Jarnail Singh stated, “No matter how many police personnel the BJP deploys or how many security cordons it puts up, nothing can stop us from peacefully going to Jantar Mantar and demanding the resignation of this vote thief, Gyanesh Kumar. Gyanesh Kumar will have to resign.”
Jarnail Singh added, “Since morning, the Delhi Police has been assigned the duty of going to the homes of everyone who is heading to Jantar Mantar to demand Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and participate in the peaceful protest, and stopping them from leaving. The Delhi Police has turned the area outside my house into a complete police camp, and the same situation prevails outside the homes of most leaders and workers who are trying to go to Jantar Mantar.”
Jarnail Singh further stated, “Even the Delhi Police personnel themselves want this protest to take place from within, so that this country can be freed from this dictatorial government. If anyone wants to come to Jantar Mantar, they will find a way through the side routes and reach here. If they cannot come by car, they should come by bike, and if the police stops their bike, they should simply walk. We will reach here by whatever means necessary and ensure that this vote thief, Gyanesh Kumar, resigns.”
AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar stated, “We have reached Jantar Mantar to demand Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. Despite all the obstacles created by PM Modi’s police, our LoP Atishi, National Media In-charge Anurag Dhanda, councillor Abhishek Tiwari and all our karyakarta colleagues are present here. Our arrival at Jantar Mantar against the dictatorship of the Modi Government marks the beginning of a campaign to save democracy and the Constitution in this country. This campaign to save the country’s democracy will begin with Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, and therefore, we will ensure that Gyanesh Kumar resigns.”
Kuldeep Kumar added, “The manner in which the police are misbehaving with people, forcibly taking them away from the spot and beating them with lathis and sticks is extremely unfortunate. PM Modi, you will not be able to save Gyanesh Kumar even with the power of the police. And if Gyanesh Kumar does not go, your resignation will be next.”
AAP National Media In-charge Anurag Dhanda stated, “It is absolutely clear that there is fear of the police, as anyone who comes near Jantar Mantar is immediately picked up and arrested. But people are not stopping from coming. Gyanesh Kumar will have to go now, under any circumstances, and I feel that it is now time for PM Modi to pack his bags too.”
