Mumbai became a second front of Friday's electoral-roll protests as hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside Shivaji Park in Dadar for the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) 'Jail Bharo' agitation, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.
The protest went ahead even though the Mumbai police had refused permission for the gathering. By early afternoon, security forces were deployed in large numbers around the park, with emergency response and mobile surveillance vans stationed outside. CJP spokesperson Saurav Das reached the venue and addressed the media, while founder Abhijeet Dipke, who had announced the protest a day earlier, led the call for demonstrators to court arrest.
Photographs from the site showed protesters sitting outside the park's gates with the Tricolour in hand after being denied entry. Slogans of "Gyanesh, it's done, bro" filled the air, mixed with the sound of patriotic songs as the crowd held its ground through the afternoon. Security was also tightened at the Dadar Metro station nearby.
The Mumbai demonstration ran parallel to much larger protests in the national capital, where The Hindu's live updates reported that Delhi Police detained more than 700 people from Jantar Mantar and nearby areas, including former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and AISA activist Neha Borah. Internet services were shut down in parts of central Delhi, and the Delhi Metro closed entry and exit at 11 stations.
The CJP has said its agitation will continue until Kumar resigns, and plans to take the protest to Goa, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. A lawyers' association from Maharashtra's Palghar district has offered free legal assistance to CJP members if they face cases over the agitation.
Sources: The Hindu live blog: Hundreds detained by Delhi police from near Jantar Mantar; protestors gather at Mumbai's Shivaji Park
The protest went ahead even though the Mumbai police had refused permission for the gathering. By early afternoon, security forces were deployed in large numbers around the park, with emergency response and mobile surveillance vans stationed outside. CJP spokesperson Saurav Das reached the venue and addressed the media, while founder Abhijeet Dipke, who had announced the protest a day earlier, led the call for demonstrators to court arrest.
Photographs from the site showed protesters sitting outside the park's gates with the Tricolour in hand after being denied entry. Slogans of "Gyanesh, it's done, bro" filled the air, mixed with the sound of patriotic songs as the crowd held its ground through the afternoon. Security was also tightened at the Dadar Metro station nearby.
The Mumbai demonstration ran parallel to much larger protests in the national capital, where The Hindu's live updates reported that Delhi Police detained more than 700 people from Jantar Mantar and nearby areas, including former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and AISA activist Neha Borah. Internet services were shut down in parts of central Delhi, and the Delhi Metro closed entry and exit at 11 stations.
The CJP has said its agitation will continue until Kumar resigns, and plans to take the protest to Goa, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. A lawyers' association from Maharashtra's Palghar district has offered free legal assistance to CJP members if they face cases over the agitation.
Sources: The Hindu live blog: Hundreds detained by Delhi police from near Jantar Mantar; protestors gather at Mumbai's Shivaji Park
