Several leaders , MPs and five hundred activists arrested at Jantar Mantar demanding resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar
In a major crackdown on Gandhi Jayanti, Delhi Police detained several opposition leaders at Jantar Mantar on 2nd October 2026 during a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and alleged vote theft. Among those detained were CPI Rajya Sabha MP Comrade Sandosh Kumar and CPI Delhi State Council Secretary and National Executive Member Prof. Dinesh Varshney, who were demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar and his masters, Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They were taken to Parliament Street Police Station after they tried to stage a demonstration at the designated protest site.
The protest, called by AISA, Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha and Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, along with leaders of AAP, Youth Congress and other INDIA bloc outfits, was denied permission by Delhi Police which imposed Section 163 of BNSS across New Delhi district citing public order concerns. Heavy barricading was put up around Jantar Mantar, Parliament Street, Tolstoy Marg and Ashoka Road, traffic from Connaught Place towards Patel Chowk was diverted, and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation closed entry and exit at eleven stations including Janpath, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Rajiv Chowk, Mandi House and New Delhi, while internet services were suspended in the vicinity.
AAP alleged high-handedness, stating that its Delhi President Saurabh Bharadwaj and MLA Sanjeev Jha were detained from Jantar Mantar itself despite a peaceful protest, while Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was stopped outside his North Avenue residence and prevented from proceeding towards the protest site and Parliament. Bharadwaj alleged that police personnel had been stationed outside his house all night, saying in a post on X that the SHO himself sat outside his residence, and that heavy police deployment was also made outside former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence. Urging protesters not to fear police action, Bharadwaj said Arvind Kejriwal would try to reach Jantar Mantar by afternoon and advised supporters coming by metro to get down at AIIMS and walk to the venue as nearby stations were closed. The Delhi Police has not yet issued a formal statement on the detentions, while protesters maintain that they had applied for permission a week ago and were exercising their democratic right to protest at a designated site.
