Mamata Banerjee detained in Delhi before CEC protest

Indian police detained former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and a host of other opposition leaders and activists in New Delhi on Saturday, as the authorities moved to forestall a planned demonstration demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Ms Banerjee and several Trinamool Congress lawmakers were detained outside the South Avenue residence of party MP Abhishek Banerjee after attempting to join a protest organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar. Those reportedly held alongside her included Dola Sen, Pratima Mondal, Derek O’Brien, Samirul Islam and Saket Gokhale, and the party said they had been taken away in a police van, although their subsequent whereabouts were unclear. Ms Banerjee accused the authorities of denying young people their right to protest, whereas police reportedly cited the lack of permission and concerns over public order; a detailed response to her allegations was not immediately available. Meanwhile, CJP founder Abhijit Dipke and associates Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained aboard a flight from Mumbai shortly after it landed in Delhi, and the YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was reportedly detained at his home in Gurugram.

Mr Vijayan was also detained near Jantar Mantar, according to media reports, together with Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas and K N Balagopal, a former Kerala finance minister. Furthermore, the authorities had deployed extensive security measures across the capital, including barricades, curbs on public transport and a temporary suspension of mobile internet services in designated areas. Reports differed on how many metro stations had been affected, with early accounts citing 57 and later ones 45, and several roads were placed under traffic restrictions, disrupting movement well beyond the protest site. The total number of detainees remained uncertain, since media outlets cited differing figures.

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The demonstration centred on allegations of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demands for Mr Kumar’s resignation. Opposition parties and protesters contend that the exercise could disenfranchise eligible voters and hand an advantage to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Election Commission, however, has rejected claims of political bias, explaining that names flagged during verification may include deceased voters, people who have relocated and individuals who could not be traced; it has also maintained that draft figures do not necessarily reflect final deletions and that eligible voters may seek inclusion. Consequently, while police defended the restrictions on public-order grounds, opposition leaders condemned the detentions as an infringement of the right to peaceful protest.