Photo: Ji-Elle / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday (October 24) directed the Delhi Police to act firmly against anyone who tries to disrupt law and order in the capital, as the city prepares for a large opposition rally at Ramlila Maidan on November 1. Shah chaired a security review at the Delhi Police Headquarters on Jai Singh Road that ran for more than three hours, according to officials and police sources.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Intelligence Bureau chief Mahesh Dixit, Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and senior officers from the Special Cell and the Crime Branch attended the meeting. It was Shah’s first visit to the police headquarters since August 30, 2022.
What the Home Minister ordered
Sources said Shah made it clear that nobody has the right to disturb public order and that such elements should be dealt with firmly. He asked the force to step up patrolling in sensitive areas, keep women, children and elderly people safe in public places, and make greater use of CCTV cameras and artificial intelligence to track suspicious individuals.
He also ordered special vigilance at all entry points to the capital to stop anti-social elements from coming in. More than 250 companies of central armed police forces, drawn from the CRPF, BSF, ITBP, SSB, CISF and the Rapid Action Force, are already deployed in Delhi. Their deployment, which includes women personnel, has been extended until October 31 and could be lengthened depending on the security assessment. The Police Commissioner is reported to have briefed Shah on arrangements for the November 1 rally.
Months of protests under review
The meeting looked back at the protests Delhi has seen over the past five months, including the police response, allegations of assaults on personnel and attempts to break through barricades. The force has faced criticism over alleged excessive force during the Cockroach Janta Party’s ‘Sansad Chalo’ march in July and its October 10 demonstration at Jantar Mantar. Sources said officers discussed better crowd management and coordination so that gatherings do not turn into law-and-order problems.
The review also covered drug trafficking, gangs run from abroad through handlers in Delhi-NCR, extortion shootings, crimes against women, the use of AI to ease traffic congestion and the removal of encroachments. The complaints of traders who say repeated protests and traffic curbs are hurting business were also taken up.
Why the November 1 rally matters
Congress and its INDIA bloc allies have called the Ramlila Maidan rally to press for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, whom they accuse of overseeing a flawed Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls that deleted lakhs of names. The opposition has also announced a mock parliamentary session on October 30 on a proposal to impeach the CEC.
Several trade bodies, including the Chamber of Trade and Industry, have written to Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi asking that the rally be moved to after November 10, saying a big protest in the festive season would cause losses. Officials said security arrangements would continue strictly as per protocol over the coming week.
