Massive protest at Jantar Mantar demanding sacking of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, several students and youths dragged and forcibly arrested
New Delhi, 24 September 2026 – Hundreds of activists and students today staged a massive protest demonstration at Jantar Mantar demanding sacking of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) controversy and alleged large-scale deletion of voters.
The protest was cumulatively led by CPI (ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhatacharya , Supreme Court advocate and senior activist Prashant Bhushan, Swaraj India chief and former psephologist, author and activist Yogendra Yadav, along with several student leaders and civil society activists.
According to eyewitnesses, the protesters raised slogans demanding immediate sacking of the CEC and targeted the BJP-led central government over alleged vote chori and misuse of the Election Commission. Placards reading “Save Democracy, Save Voter Rolls” and “Sack CEC Gyanesh Kumar” were seen.
Heavy police deployment was made at Jantar Mantar since morning. Delhi Police had a hard time dealing with the young protesters who had gathered in large numbers, reminiscence of the massive student protest demonstration in the month of July which had led to the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and injuries to nearly eighty students and more than 100 policemen.
Police forcibly dragged hundreds of students and activists into police vans and detained them for several hours. According to protest organizers, more than 150-200 students and activists were detained and taken to different police stations including Parliament Street and Mandir Marg. The detention was described by the protesters as merciless.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, addressing the gathering before detention, said the Election Commission has lost its credibility after 14 formal dissent notes by two Election Commissioners against CEC Gyanesh Kumar came to light. He said CEC cannot continue in office.
Yogendra Yadav said the SIR exercise which has deleted over 13 crore voters is the biggest assault on democracy and said the CEC must be sacked and all deletions must be restored.
The CPI (ML) general secretary said the centralisation of the Election Commission’s IT system in the hands of DG IT Seema Khanna and illegal changes in Form 6 without amending the law shows criminal conduct.
The protest, which began around 11 am, continued for more than three hours despite repeated police warnings. Police said protesters had no permission and were blocking the road.
The detained activists and students were released after several hours in the evening.
