A countrywide opposition protest demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar entered its third day in Delhi on Thursday, with a march led by Rahul Gandhi travelling from Connaught Place to Rajghat amid heightened police deployment and route-management measures.
The protest march began after opposition leaders gathered for lunch at a restaurant in Connaught Place. Unlike the previous two days, when demonstrations were reported to have involved commotion and pushing, the march proceeded without similar incidents, according to the report. Delhi Police escorted buses carrying participants and managed movement along the route.
The procession moved from Connaught Place towards Minto Bridge and was briefly directed away from Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg after police began putting up barricades near the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters. The report said the route was altered to avoid a possible confrontation. Participants then moved towards Ramlila Maidan before continuing through Jawaharlal Nehru Marg and Turkman Gate to Rajghat.
At Rajghat, opposition leaders paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and held a prayer. National Students’ Union of India and Seva Dal workers walked along the route while raising slogans. Rahul Gandhi said the opposition had wanted to hold a peaceful protest near the Election Commission office on the first day but was stopped, and that participants were also prevented from reaching Jantar Mantar on the second day. His allegations were made during the march and were not independently established in the report.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s lunch meeting was attended by leaders from the Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), along with Congress leaders and the chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh and Telangana. Kharge said the gathering was intended to communicate the opposition’s concerns about the government and the functioning of democratic institutions.
The protest also produced a separate law-and-order incident in Connaught Place, where a person was beaten by demonstrators and was described in the report as a suspected BJP supporter. The report did not provide details of a police case or the person’s condition. Separately, Delhi BJP Mahila Morcha members demonstrated near the Congress headquarters, accusing Rahul Gandhi of misbehaving with women police personnel and demanding an apology. Those allegations were also reported as claims by the protesting group.
The city’s security arrangements were expanded ahead of another protest announced for 10 October by the group identified in the report as CJP. A senior official said more than 20,000 police and paramilitary personnel had been deployed across Delhi before the demonstration. The official also said permission had not been granted for protests at Jantar Mantar.
The heightened security has consequences beyond the protest sites. Barricading and route changes can affect traffic on central Delhi corridors linking Connaught Place, Minto Bridge, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, Ramlila Maidan, Turkman Gate and Rajghat. The excise department also directed liquor shops to remain closed on Friday and Saturday, citing the prevailing situation and the need to maintain public order.
Protests were also reported in Patna, Lucknow and Bengaluru. In Patna, Tejashwi Yadav led opposition leaders demanding the Election Commission chief’s resignation, while police stopped the participating leaders. In Lucknow, Congress and Samajwadi Party leaders joined the demonstrations. The report said the CJP held a protest in Bengaluru.
The next reported mobilisation in Delhi is scheduled for 10 October, while police and civic authorities continue to manage security, access and public-order arrangements around the proposed demonstration sites.
