Mumbai, October 2: Activists of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and other civil society organisations staged a protest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on Friday against the Election Commission and alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Heavy police deployment was seen at Shivaji Park in view of the protest.
CJP spokesperson Saurav Das alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had violated rules governing the functioning of the Election Commission and demanded his removal. He also appealed to residents of Mumbai to join the demonstration.
“As you can see, we are starting from Mumbai today. This is going to be a very big protest. Mumbai showed last time what the spirit of Mumbai is,” Das said.
He alleged that the youth of Mumbai and other parts of the country would once again take to the streets to demand Kumar’s resignation.
“This time too, it is going to be the same with Gyanesh Kumar, who is a traitor to the country. The youth of Mumbai are hitting the streets again. Today, a massive protest is going to happen at Shivaji Park,” he said.
However, some local residents objected to Shivaji Park being used as a venue for political demonstrations, citing inconvenience to people living in the area.
Local resident Sunil Bhagwat said Shivaji Park was regularly used by residents for walking and other recreational activities and claimed that repeated protests were causing difficulties for the public.
“We come here for walks in this park, but many protests have been happening here recently. Who is responsible for the troubles being caused to the common people?” Bhagwat said.
Another resident, Ravindra, referred to an earlier protest at the venue and alleged that the large gathering had affected traffic and created problems for residents.
He claimed that the previous gathering had extended up to Dadar Shivaji Park station and alleged that liquor bottles had been thrown in the area.
Ravindra also raised concerns about the presence of schools and a hospital near the protest site, claiming that traffic movement had been severely affected during the earlier demonstration.
“There are two schools and a hospital here. Cars couldn’t pass through. Around 5 pm, when the school was getting over, schoolchildren were stuck in their vehicles,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Delhi, members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) staged a protest near Jantar Mantar against the Election Commission and the SIR exercise.
The protest was held despite Delhi Police denying permission for the proposed demonstration and imposing prohibitory restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. Security was tightened in central Delhi in view of the gathering.
CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby, who joined the protest, demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and alleged that he had violated rules governing the Election Commission.
“Gyanesh Kumar should be arrested for the criminal activity of cutting people's votes,” Baby alleged.
Baby said thousands of youth and student leaders affiliated with the SFI and DYFI had travelled to Delhi from different parts of the country to participate in the protest.
“In Jantar Mantar and a few other places in Delhi, thousands of youth and student leaders of the Students Federation of India and Democratic Youth Federation have come from different parts of the country,” he said.
The protests in Mumbai and Delhi come amid growing opposition to the Election Commission over the SIR exercise. The opposition campaign against the CEC is also expected to see further mobilisation, with the INDIA bloc planning a series of protests, including a march scheduled for October 6.
