Security agencies have cordoned off the protest site at Jantar Mantar in anticipation of a fresh protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
Section 189 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) is already in place in the Jantar Mantar area, barring an assembly of more than five people. Additional forces have been mobilised, and a few more cameras have been set up in the vicinity, said officials.
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The Indian Youth Congress also held a protest march from 5, Raisina Road to Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of Kumar. Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress staged a protest in Bhopal, demanding Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission and the SIR exercise.
The protesters demonstrated outside the office of the MP Chief Electoral Officer and raised slogans against the CEC. They also carried posters reading “arrest Gyanesh Kumar for treason” and “Vote-Chori magic trick exposed”.
In Punjab, Pradesh Congress Committee president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring demanded the dismissal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, registration of an FIR against him and his alleged collaborators, followed by their arrest. He also announced that the party would march to the Election Commission office in Sector 17, Chandigarh, under the leadership of Sachin Pilot.Also Read | Election Commission SIR row: Rahul Gandhi urges Gyanesh Kumar to ‘turn approver’, praises two ECs
Opposition parties are also set to move an impeachment motion notice against CEC Gyanesh Kumar in both Houses of Parliament, with Congress reaching out to other opposition parties over the issue, party sources said. The notice is expected to be submitted within the next two weeks.
The Election Commission, however, has rejected the assertion that the reported objections by Sandhu and Joshi represented structural or institutional dissent over final decisions. The poll panel has said operational queries, internal feedback and administrative suggestions raised during drafting are part of the normal functioning of a multi-member constitutional body and maintained that all final decisions, including those related to SIR, were unanimous.
