Guwahati: Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal were detained in Delhi on Saturday as protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar intensified in the national capital.
Banerjee was detained along with several Trinamool Congress leaders during a demonstration near her South Avenue residence. The detentions came amid heightened security arrangements across Delhi for the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) planned protest at Jantar Mantar.
The demonstration centred on allegations of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the demand for Kumar’s resignation. The Election Commission has maintained that the revision process involves verification and that eligible voters whose names are excluded from draft rolls can apply for enrolment again.
Kejriwal had earlier announced that he would join the CJP protest along with his family. On Saturday, the AAP alleged that heavy security had been deployed outside his residence.Kejriwal criticised the detention of CJP leaders and described the situation as “worse than the Emergency”.
Meanwhile, several CJP leaders were detained after arriving in Delhi ahead of the demonstration. Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, along with Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, was detained at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), a senior police officer confirmed.
More than 1,500 CJP supporters were also reportedly detained from different parts of Delhi as part of preventive security measures.
Delhi Police deployed thousands of personnel across the capital, with reports putting the total deployment of police and paramilitary forces at around 35,000. Barricades, vehicle checks and other security measures were introduced around central Delhi and along routes leading to the protest venue.
Public transport was also affected by the security arrangements. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation restricted entry and exit at 45 metro stations from 9 pm on Friday until 6 pm on Saturday. Interchange facilities remained available at the affected stations, except at New Delhi station. The list was subsequently reduced from an earlier announcement covering 57 stations.
The protest against Kumar comes amid growing opposition criticism of the SIR exercise. The CJP had called for the demonstration at Jantar Mantar as part of its campaign seeking accountability over the electoral roll revision process and demanding the Chief Election Commissioner’s resignation.
The detentions of political leaders and supporters, along with the extensive security deployment and metro restrictions, marked a significant escalation in the measures taken by authorities ahead of the protest.