New Delhi witnessed multiple demonstrations on Friday, with members of student organisations and political groups taking to the streets in Connaught Place, Palika Bazaar, Mandi House and other parts of the capital over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and police action against protesters. Carrying a giant Tricolour, a group of protesters took multiple rounds of Connaught Place’s inner circle, while another climbed barricades with flags, banners and placards. Slogans of ‘Jai Hind’, ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ and ‘Gyanesh Kumar, ab tumhari baari hai’ rang out across the commercial hub in the heart of the city as the demonstrators moved between locations, dispersing and regrouping while police personnel attempted to clear the area.
The demonstrations, involving the All India Students’ Association (AISA), the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), took place amid heightened security and prohibitory orders in central Delhi. The ABVP also staged a protest against the protestors.
Tricolours in hand and raising slogans of ‘Jai Hind’, hundreds of supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and members of student organisations held a series of flash protests in central Delhi on Friday evening after police denied permission for the party’s ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march at Connaught Place. The protesters walked through the inner circle of Connaught Place, intermittently raising the slogan of ‘Jai Hind’ before dispersing and regrouping at different spots. Some also sang the national anthem.
The protests and heavy security deployment disrupted commercial activity in Connaught Place and Palika Bazaar, with traders in the two busy market areas growing agitated over the interruption to their businesses. Police personnel moved through the inner circle of Connaught Place to disperse protesters and ease congestion amid traffic movement and crowds of onlookers.
Among the protesters was 21-year-old Taksh, a student of DY Patil University in Mumbai, who wore a red lehenga and carried a placard reading, “Gyanesh Kumar jaldi istifa do, shaadi ka muhurat nikalta jaa raha hai.” He said he had been in Delhi for a month to participate in the protests and was attending his university classes online. “I bought the red lehenga for Rs 2,000,” Taksh said, standing out among the protesters dressed in casual clothes and carrying national flags.
Demonstrators carried placards bearing messages such as “SIR band karo, vote chori band karo”, “Who deleted my vote” and “Police violence is not an accident”. Some protesters sang the national anthem as they marched through Connaught Place, while others raised slogans against the Election Commission and demanded action over the revision of electoral rolls.
Security personnel were deployed across the area, with barricades placed around key locations. Delhi Police had imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, restricting assemblies in the affected area. The traffic police also warned that movement on several roads around Connaught Place could be affected from 3 pm, advising commuters to allow extra travel time and use public transport wherever possible.
Left leaders, including MPs John Brittas and Sandosh Kumar, also participated in the march along with the Democratic Youth Federation of India. Minor altercations broke out between protesters and police as personnel attempted to disperse the gatherings. Journalists and independent YouTube reporters were present at the protest sites to cover the demonstrations, with a few independent YouTube journalists being heckled. The demonstrations were held in response to the CJP’s call for a ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march, scheduled to be held at Central Park in Connaught Place at 5 pm.
Dipke and Bora were preventively detained by Delhi Police while on their way to participate in the protests, with the CJP leader headed to Connaught Place and the AISA chief to Mandi House. While Dipke was picked up from his residence in Jhandewalan, Bora was detained at Mandi House. The detentions triggered scenes of jostling among crowds, camera crews and security personnel. AISA members and other student activists demonstrated at Mandi House against the Election Commission and demanded Kumar’s resignation
Reports put the number of people detained during the day’s demonstrations at around 150, although the figure could not be independently confirmed through an official police statement available at the time of reporting.
Separately, NSUI members staged a protest outside Parliament Street police station on Friday morning. The demonstration came amid tensions following earlier police action against activists involved in protests over the electoral-roll revision. Several NSUI members were detained. The organisation has also raised concerns about alleged assaults on its members during previous demonstrations.
The AAP also backed the wider protest campaign against Kumar, adding to the opposition presence around the issue. Student organisations and opposition groups have increasingly joined the demonstrations following the detention of CJP activists and restrictions on gatherings at Jantar Mantar, which Delhi Police recently ceased recognising as a designated protest site. The police identified Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground as alternative locations for demonstrations.
Away from the flags and the police cordons, a different protest was held at the Faculty of Arts, University of Delhi. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) gathered students under the message “Stop Anarchy, Embrace Democracy,” in opposition to the politics of the Cockroach Janta Party.
The ABVP said the right to dissent and to question institutions such as the Election Commission was part of democracy, but argued that criticism must rest on facts and constitutional propriety, and that it should not breed distrust of institutions. Sarthak Sharma, the ABVP’s Delhi State Secretary, said promoting anarchy for political gain and creating confusion among the public could not be acceptable. Yash Dabas, president of the Delhi University Students’ Union, said students could raise questions on every issue but could not equate anarchy with democracy, and that political differences should be settled through dialogue.