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New Delhi: The Delhi Police\u2019s decision to remove historic Jantar Mantar from the list of designated protest sites has drawn sharp criticism from opposition leaders and activists, who have described the move as an attack on the fundamental right to peaceful assembly and a sign of the BJP-led Indian government\u2019s intolerance of dissent.<\/p>\n
A standing order issued by Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar on October 11 removed Jantar Mantar from the list of officially designated venues for demonstrations. Three alternative sites were designated instead: Ramlila Ground in central Delhi, Burari Ground in north Delhi, and CBD Ground in east Delhi.<\/p>\n
The decision comes amid heightened tensions in the Indian capital over protests, including demonstrations by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which has been demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over electoral irregularities.<\/p>\n
Why Is Modi Scared of Jantar Mantar?<\/p>\n
CJP co-convener Saurav Das described the decision as \u201cunacceptable.\u201d In a strongly worded social media post, he questioned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s stance towards public protests, asking, \u201cWhy is Narendra Modi scared of Jantar Mantar? The Jantar Mantar belongs to THE PEOPLE OF INDIA. Did the Ministry of Home Affairs consult with the people of India?\u201d<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cTake it in writing\u2014just how they are denotifying people\u2019s Jantar Mantar, the Prime Minister will soon denotify democracy in India. This move is a step towards that. We do not accept this arbitrary decision. It is an assault on people\u2019s fundamental right to protest and peaceful assembly. Ab poora desh Jantar Mantar ban raha hai!\u201d<\/p>\n
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also condemned the move, saying, \u201cToday, Modi denotified Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site. Tomorrow, he will denotify democracy itself. The dictator\u2019s problem was never the protest site. It was the very idea of people protesting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Congress Sees Sign of Extreme Panic<\/p>\n
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh described the decision as a \u201csign of extreme panic\u201d within the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a definite sign of the extreme panic that has gripped the PM-HM duo that the historic Jantar Mantar will no longer be a place where our democracy is given a daily booster dose,\u201d he said in a social media post.<\/p>\n
Ramesh further remarked that \u201cthe poisonous pair is embattled, and we have seen in the past few days how brutally they have dealt with peaceful public protests.\u201d<\/p>\n
Delhi Turned into Militarised Fortress<\/p>\n
The Communist Party of India (Marxist\u2013Leninist) Liberation also strongly condemned the Modi government\u2019s move to remove Jantar Mantar from the list of designated protest sites.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving turned Delhi into a militarized fortress and unleashed colonial-style police repression against students, youth, activists and citizens demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the scrapping of the unconstitutional and arbitrary SIR process that has disenfranchised crores of citizens, the Modi-Shah regime has now moved to shut down one of the last remaining popular spaces for democratic protest in the national capital,\u201d the party said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi: The Delhi Police\u2019s decision to remove historic Jantar Mantar from the list of designated protest sites has drawn sharp criticism from opposition leaders and activists, who have described the move as an attack on the fundamental right to peaceful assembly and a sign of the BJP-led Indian government\u2019s intolerance of dissent. A standing …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":213149,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-213147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india"],"yoast_head":"\n