Delhi Police has tightened security in Connaught Place ahead of a planned INDIA bloc protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with two police teams deployed near Moet’s restaurant and additional security prepared for possible movement towards Jantar Mantar or the Election Commission office.
The opposition leaders are scheduled to meet for lunch at Moet’s in Connaught Place before deciding their next course of action. According to the report, the police teams have been sent to K-Block and the restaurant area to manage security around the gathering.
Officials said paramilitary personnel may also be deployed if the leaders move towards Jantar Mantar or the Election Commission office. The additional deployment comes after a protest-related confrontation near Le Meridien hotel on Wednesday, when opposition MPs travelled towards Jantar Mantar after lunch at Sagar Ratna on Janpath.
Police have also sent security personnel and local staff to Rajghat. The Indian Youth Congress had earlier announced a march from Rajghat, but a senior police officer said it was not yet clear whether the opposition leaders would proceed towards Rajghat or Jantar Mantar.
The planned lunch is the second consecutive day on which INDIA bloc leaders have used a restaurant gathering before a protest. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is hosting the meeting. Wednesday’s lunch was attended by Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and K.C. Venugopal, along with Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Manoj Jha, among other opposition MPs.
The previous march was stopped near Le Meridien, where protesters and police clashed, according to the supplied report. Police subsequently registered first information reports against Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said the purpose of the second lunch was to discuss an agenda focused on protecting democracy and the Constitution. The opposition has been questioning the functioning of the Election Commission and has alleged that Kumar is acting at the government’s direction and that transparency is lacking in the poll panel’s functioning. Those allegations are political claims made by the opposition and were not independently established in the supplied report.
Police said the route and destination of the leaders had not been finalised. Security arrangements in Connaught Place, Rajghat and the routes towards Jantar Mantar and the Election Commission office were therefore being maintained ahead of the planned mobilisation.
