Delhi once again is bracing for a mega protest rally, this time by INDIA Bloc against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
'Chalo Dilli' protest
The ‘Chalo Dilli’ mobilisation will begin with a march from the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction at noon, culminating at Ramlila Maidan, where the INDIA Bloc will hold a rally. Senior alliance leaders are expected to travel in open buses from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence to the starting point of the march.
At Ramlila Maidan, a large tricolour canopy has been erected over the main stage for senior opposition leaders, while a second stage is being arranged for representatives of the INDIA Bloc state units. Rows of white canopy tents have been put up, metal barricades installed to regulate movement, and temporary platforms have been assembled.
Separate entry gates and enclosures are being arranged for different categories of attendees. Organisers have also been asked to deploy volunteers to regulate the crowd, arrange drinking water and separate toilets for women, and coordinate parking with the traffic police. Overnight stay at the venue is not permitted.
Rahul’s request to protesters
Many supporters arrived in Delhi on Sunday morning, while several others had reached the national capital on Saturday or earlier as parties mobilised their cadres from different states for the protest.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday urged people coming to Delhi for the protest to also shop from local traders ahead of Diwali, Chhath and Bhai Dooj, asserting that the Opposition’s programme would not hurt businesses.
Heavy security arrangements
The Opposition expects a turnout of up to 10 lakh people, while Delhi Police expects around 50,000. Ramlila Maidan can accommodate 45,000 to 50,000 people when empty, but its capacity is estimated to come down to 30,000-40,000 with chairs, enclosures and designated passageways in place.
Space outside the ground will be kept for crowd spillover.
More than 4,000 police personnel, along with Central Armed Police Forces companies, are being deployed for security and crowd management along the march route and at the venue. The ground has been divided into 14 zones, each supervised by an officer of assistant commissioner rank. More than 200 CCTV cameras, drones and body-worn cameras will be used for surveillance.
Mock impeachment of Gyanesh Kumar
It comes a day after INDIA Bloc carried out a symbolic “public impeachment” of Gyanesh Kumar in a mock-Parliament kind of setting.
In an unprecedented event, opposition MPs and leaders, joined by civil society members, passed a resolution to “impeach” Kumar at a meeting presided over by former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar in a setting resembling Parliament proceedings at the lawns of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s 10, Rajaji Marg residence in Delhi.
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