Photo: Subeesh Balan സുഭീഷ് ബാലൻ / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has called on supporters to march to Jantar Mantar again at 10 am on Sunday, October 11, a day after Delhi Police stopped its protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and detained thousands of people across the capital. Police said their deployment on Sunday would stay the same as on Saturday.
‘Make that place your Jantar Mantar’
The call came from Ajinkya Shinde, the party’s national organisation in-charge, in a video posted on X. With party leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurabh Das still in custody, Shinde said the agitation would go on until Kumar resigns. The party accuses the CEC of taking away the voting rights of 12 crore people through irregularities in electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Wherever the Delhi Police stops you, make that place your Jantar Mantar.
Ajinkya Shinde, CJP national organisation in-charge
In a statement, the CJP claimed that more than 15,000 people faced detention or police action on Saturday, and alleged that train and bus cancellations, Metro closures and signal jammers were used to stop a peaceful assembly. Police put the number of people detained at more than 7,000. All of them, including former chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar, have since been released, except the three CJP leaders, who police say will go through the legal process.
Traffic diversions from 6 am
The Delhi Traffic Police issued an advisory on Saturday, citing the law and order situation. Diversions on key routes in New Delhi and Central Delhi will begin at 6 am on Sunday and stay in force until further notice. Commuters heading to railway stations, inter-state bus terminals or the airport through these areas have been told to leave extra time and avoid non-essential travel. Points likely to be affected include:
- Dhaula Kuan flyover, Lodhi Road flyover and the area under Moti Bagh flyover
- Mandi House, Jhandewalan, Panchkuian and Patel Chowk roundabouts
- Outer Circle Connaught Place at Sansad Marg, Barakhamba Road and Chelmsford Road
- Ashoka Road, Jantar Mantar Road, Janpath-Tolstoy Marg and Jai Singh Road crossings
- Minto Road, Guru Nanak Chowk and the roundabouts at Rail Bhawan and RML Hospital
Police said the measures would be relaxed or tightened based on real-time assessment on the ground.
Metro back to normal, for now
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation said late on Saturday that the entry and exit gates of all stations had reopened and interchanges were working again. Restrictions had been imposed at 45 stations, including Rajiv Chowk, Central Secretariat, Mandi House, ITO and Kashmere Gate, at the request of Delhi Police. They were extended from 6 pm to 10 pm. A police officer said measures involving the Metro and trains on Sunday would depend on the situation.
What to watch on Sunday
The Supreme Court is due to hold a special Sunday sitting on petitions challenging the detentions and the transport shutdown. Separately, the CJP has questioned police over Dipke’s access to his family after his grandmother died in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district on Saturday. Police said he had been told of her death and offered help to travel home.
