The Delhi Police has removed Jantar Mantar from its list of designated venues for protests, ending the use of the central Delhi site for धरna and demonstrations, according to a report by Jagran – New Delhi. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav criticised the decision on October 12, saying that closing the venue would not remove the right to protest.
Yadav made the remarks while participating in a march by the opposition INDIA bloc towards the Supreme Court. Asked about the decision, he said that Jantar Mantar may have been closed as a protest site, but democratic rights to hold demonstrations had not been stopped.
“Jantar Mantar hi to khatam hua hai. Loktantra mein धरने और प्रदर्शन के अधिकार को तो नहीं रोका गया है। जहां धरना दे देंगे, वही जंतर-मंतर हो जाएगा,” Yadav said, according to the report. Translated into English, he said that only Jantar Mantar had been ended, not the right to protest, and that any place where people held a sit-in could become another Jantar Mantar.
The police decision means that demonstrations can no longer be held at the well-known venue under its previous designation. The report does not provide the text of the police order or specify the reasons cited by the authorities for removing Jantar Mantar from the list. It also does not detail the operational conditions that will apply to groups seeking permission to demonstrate elsewhere.
Yadav also accused authorities of using the police to shield what he described as wrongdoing. “Those who are weak put the police in front. They know that they are wrong. They are using the force to hide their mistake,” he said while responding to questions from journalists. His comments represent a political response to the police decision and do not establish the administration’s stated rationale for the change.
Jantar Mantar has long been associated with public demonstrations in New Delhi and has functioned as a recognised location for political and civic protest. Its removal as a designated venue changes the established arrangement through which protest organisers, police and the public have managed demonstrations at the site. Jagran’s report also refers to three new locations being identified for protests, but the supplied report does not name those locations or explain how they will operate.
The immediate impact for protest organisers will depend on the permissions, restrictions and facilities attached to the alternative venues. The Delhi Police has not been quoted in the report explaining the decision or outlining the next steps for groups that had planned demonstrations at Jantar Mantar. Further details of the order and the three replacement sites are awaited.
