Delhi Police have strengthened security in Connaught Place and other central Delhi locations ahead of another INDIA bloc protest seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with police teams deployed near a restaurant where opposition leaders plan to meet before deciding their next move.
According to a report by Live Hindustan, two Delhi Police teams have been sent to K-Block in Connaught Place to secure the Moets restaurant and the surrounding area. Police have also prepared for the possibility that opposition leaders could move towards Jantar Mantar or the Election Commission office after the meeting.
Paramilitary personnel have been deployed in the area as a precaution, officials said. The deployment comes after opposition lawmakers were stopped near the Le Meridien hotel while travelling towards Jantar Mantar in buses following a lunch meeting on Wednesday. The earlier protest reportedly led to clashes between demonstrators and police.
The Indian Youth Congress has separately announced a march from Rajghat. Police said security personnel and local staff had been sent to the location, although the final route of the opposition leaders remained unclear. A senior police officer cited in the report said it was not yet known whether the leaders would proceed towards Rajghat or Jantar Mantar.
The proposed Connaught Place lunch is the second consecutive such meeting by INDIA bloc leaders. On Wednesday, opposition MPs gathered for lunch at Sagar Ratna on Janpath before travelling in three buses towards Jantar Mantar. The gathering was hosted by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who is also hosting the latest meeting at Moets.
The meetings are part of the opposition’s continuing protests over the functioning of the Election Commission. Opposition parties have alleged that Gyanesh Kumar is acting at the government’s direction and have raised concerns about a lack of transparency in the poll panel’s functioning. These allegations have been made by the opposition and were not independently established in the report.
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said the purpose of the lunch meeting was to discuss what he described as the need to protect the country’s democracy and Constitution. Wednesday’s meeting was attended by Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and K.C. Venugopal, along with Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Manoj Jha and other INDIA bloc MPs.
The police arrangements cover several high-footfall and politically significant locations in central Delhi, including Connaught Place, Rajghat, Janpath and the routes leading towards Jantar Mantar. The final movement plan of the opposition leaders and any resulting traffic or access restrictions had not been specified in the report.
