AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj Detained at Jantar Mantar as Delhi Police Block Anti-CEC Protest

Delhi Police on Friday detained Aam Aadmi Party's Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj and several party workers at Jantar Mantar, where protesters had gathered on Gandhi Jayanti to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Police had refused permission for the demonstration and placed most of central Delhi under prohibitory orders.

The protest is the latest flashpoint in the opposition's campaign against the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Our earlier coverage of the INDIA bloc's six demands sets out the background to the dispute.

A district under prohibitory orders

Police invoked Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) across New Delhi district. The order bars unauthorised gatherings of five or more people, along with processions, demonstrations, picketing, dharnas, slogan-shouting and public speeches. New Delhi DCP Sachin Sharma said preventive arrangements were in place and asked the public to follow the law.

Barricades went up on the roads leading to Jantar Mantar, and police and additional security forces were deployed with riot-control equipment. The curbs also reached the Metro. Entry and exit were shut until further notice at 11 stations: Janpath, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Rajiv Chowk, Seva Teerth, Mandi House, Lok Kalyan Marg, INA, Chawri Bazar, Ramakrishna Ashram Marg and New Delhi. Passengers could still change lines at the major interchanges.

Bharadwaj's Rs 91 pitch

Before he was taken away, Bharadwaj accused the authorities of turning Delhi into a fortress. He said he had come alone, taking the Metro for Rs 11 and an auto-rickshaw for Rs 80. If he could get to Jantar Mantar for Rs 91, he said, so could other supporters.

He urged people to keep the protest peaceful and constitutional, and framed the fight over the electoral rolls as a defence of democracy itself.

Who turned up

The mobilisation was pitched as a citizens' protest rather than a party event. Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who backed the call, asked participants to come as individuals, leave party posters at home and stay calm even if police stopped them. Student groups including AISA, SFI and DYFI were among those organising, and the Congress, RJD and AAP were expected to take part. A parallel protest was planned in Mumbai.

What comes next

The opposition says Friday was only the start. The parties plan a Save Democracy campaign of district-level marches to raise voter concerns about the SIR, building up to a larger rally outside the Election Commission's office on October 6.

The Election Commission has maintained that the roll revision is being carried out under the prescribed procedure. With the opposition now taking its campaign to the streets and police treating central Delhi as a restricted zone, the standoff over the SIR looks set to escalate in the days before the October 6 rally.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.