Delhi: IYC marches towards Jantar Mantar, asserts right to peaceful protest

The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) on Wednesday marched towards Jantar Mantar to assert the right to peaceful protest, two days after Delhi Police denotified the site from the list of designated protest venues.

Led by IYC national president Uday Bhanu Chib, the protesters marched from Patel Chowk metro station, raising slogans and waving the national flag and the Congress’ Swaraj flag, amid heavy police deployment, barricades and detention buses.

Two days ago, Delhi Police removed Jantar Mantar from the list of designated protest sites, citing a Supreme Court directive on identifying alternative venues for demonstrations.

The move drew criticism from opposition leaders, INDIA bloc parties and several student- and youth-led organisations, which called for restoration of Jantar Mantar as a venue for public protests.

The IYC said the march was aimed at defending the constitutional right to peaceful assembly and dissent, arguing that citizens must be able to question those in power.

“Our fight is not merely for permission to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar; it is for the protection of the democratic space in which every citizen can question those in power,” an IYC member said.

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Asserting that freedom of speech, peaceful assembly and dissent were constitutionally guaranteed rights, he urged the authorities to facilitate peaceful demonstrations in line with constitutional principles.

The march comes amid the ongoing protests by various outfits demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The Youth Congress has been questioning the Election Commission’s handling of the revision exercise and alleging that the process threatens the integrity of electoral rolls. The IYC’s earlier campaigns had included demonstrations targeting Kumar, with the organisation demanding accountability from the poll body over the SIR.