Authorities in New Delhi are bracing for another confrontation over India’s contentious voter-roll revision, with police set to restrict a planned demonstration by the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party.
Central Delhi was heavily barricaded Friday morning ahead of the planned rally as a standoff with authorities deepens over the arrest of two of its leaders. Delhi police said prohibitory orders were in place “to maintain peace and tranquillity in Connaught Place and its adjoining areas and to protect human lives and public and private property.”
They urged people to stay away, while offering to facilitate a small group waving the national flag and singing the anthem at another suitable location. Traffic police restricted access to major roads around Connaught Place, a commercial district in central Delhi, and advised commuters to allow extra travel time and use public transport where possible.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also urged supporters elsewhere in the country to hold similar demonstrations. In Mumbai, the police allowed the CJP to hold a rally at Azad Maidan on Friday, PTI reported. The opposition Aam Aadmi Party, which governs Punjab state, has also pledged to support the protest, part of a broader campaign over allegations that millions of eligible voters were improperly removed from electoral rolls.
At a press conference late Thursday, Dipke said he feared the police could detain him ahead of the protests but vowed to press head.
“If we have to go to jail to wave the Tiranga in this country, then we are ready for it,” he said, referring to India’s tricolor flag.
The confrontation sets the stage for another test of authorities’ handling of the protests after thousands of people were detained and parts of the capital effectively locked down last weekend. Officials said Central Park, where Friday’s demonstration is planned, will be closed for two days.
The political tensions come as India’s strong growth story faces mounting pressure. The country remains the world’s fastest-growing major economy, but a weak rupee, foreign investment outflows and rising inflation are adding to the challenges facing the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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The dispute over Friday’s gathering follows growing restrictions on CJP’s protests. Leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were jailed for five days earlier this week after crossing police barricades to enter Jantar Mantar, which authorities recently removed as a designated protest site. The two were later jailed on charges including trespassing.
Amnesty International India called for their immediate release, saying the arrests and removal of Jantar Mantar as an authorized protest venue threatened the rights to peaceful assembly and dissent.
Ahead of the planned protest, the Delhi High Court declined to block it after police assured they would take all legally permitted measures to regulate the gathering, local media reported.
The controversy centers on the removal of 130 million names from draft electoral rolls under a nationwide exercise to verify voter eligibility, prompting opposition parties to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. They have also called for an independent investigation into the deletions.
The Election Commission has rejected allegations of wrongdoing, saying the revision is intended to remove duplicate, deceased and ineligible voters.
Leaders of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party have defended the exercise and accused the opposition of seeking to undermine democratic institutions following electoral defeats. Modi hasn’t publicly commented on the latest protests.
