Train cancellations and proposed metro restrictions have disrupted travel planning in Delhi ahead of a demonstration by the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, at Jantar Mantar on October 10, with the party demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
According to a PTI report carried by Mid-Day, the Railway Board on Friday cancelled certain Mail and Express trains scheduled to arrive at New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations between 4 am and 2 pm on October 10. The cancellations were announced a day before the proposed demonstration, which the CJP says is intended to mobilise young people against the voter-roll revision exercise.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke criticised the cancellations and restrictions surrounding the demonstration. “Shut down the entire country if you are scared of the youth,” Dipke told reporters, according to PTI.
The Delhi Police has denied permission for the CJP to hold the proposed protest at Jantar Mantar. Dipke questioned the decision, saying that prior permission should not be required for a demonstration at the designated protest site, PTI reported.
Separately, the Delhi Police has urged the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to shut 57 metro stations to prevent the movement of young people who may travel to Delhi to join the demonstration, according to information cited in the report. The report did not establish whether the DMRC had accepted the request or whether all 57 stations would be closed.
The proposed measures could affect passengers using the capital’s two major public transport systems during the morning travel window. The railway cancellations concern services scheduled to reach New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations, while the police request relates to possible restrictions at metro stations that could be used by people travelling towards the protest location.
The CJP has accused the Election Commission of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and is seeking Kumar’s resignation. The allegations have not been established as facts in the information available for the report and were presented as part of the party’s political dispute over the revision exercise.
The immediate transport measures follow the Delhi Police’s refusal to permit the proposed demonstration. The Railway Board’s cancellations and the police request to the DMRC are the stated operational steps ahead of the October 10 protest. Further details on the affected train services, the final status of the metro request and any revised police arrangements were not available in the supplied report.
