Ahmedabad, Oct 10 (PTI) Several political activists and members of Gen-Z were detained by the police in Ahmedabad on Saturday as they tried to gather for a protest in solidarity with the Cockroach Janata Party, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
Shouting slogans like “vote thief, step down”, “remove Gyanesh Kumar” and “save democracy”, the protesters turned up near Ellisbridge in the city in the evening.
The police, who were present in large numbers anticipating the protest, detained the protesters.
NSUI (National Students’ Union of India) leader Shubham Thakar, who had previously waved black flags at Gyanesh Kumar’s convoy during the CEC’s Ahmedabad visit, also joined the protest but was detained by the police.
He threatened to organise a ‘chakka jam’ (road blockade) in Ahmedabad in the near future.
Besides deploying heavy police security, authorities had also blocked roads leading to Ellisbridge crossroads.
Activist Subodh Parmar said several were detained as they planned a protest gathering near MJ Library.
“We had sought police permission two days ago for the gathering, but were denied …On the other hand, the BJP Mahila Morcha was granted permission for a protest,” he said.
Meanwhile, an unprecedented security clampdown and the detention of over 7,000 protesters, including CJP leader Abhijit Dipke, four former chief ministers and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, helped the government thwart a planned mass mobilisation at Jantar Mantar.
The CJP had called the demonstration against Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of voter-list manipulation during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and changes relating to Form 6, used for voter registration.
Earlier in the day, the BJP held a protest outside Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan, the Congress headquarters in Ahmedabad, over complaints of sexual harassment against Congress MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam.
They held a sit-in, shouting slogans against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, then tried to jump over the barricade to enter the party headquarters but were stopped by the police. PTI KA PD NR
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