Kochi: Police in at least six opposition-ruled states have detained, barricaded, or used force against people demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar even as they lead the national campaign against him.
The protests grew after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times in 10 months to decisions taken under Kumar. Critics say the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls removed about 13 crore names. The Election Commission has rejected the allegations. Kumar has not commented publicly.
In Hyderabad, police took five Telangana ministers into custody. In Thiruvananthapuram, police fired tear gas and entered a university hostel. In Chennai, police detained young protesters on the day Rahul Gandhi arrived to meet Chief Minister Joseph Vijay.
The heaviest police action took place in Delhi, where the police report to the Union Home Ministry, not to the National Capital Territory government.
Keralam's UDF government is the most active state government against Kumar. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has ordered a Vigilance probe into a 2006 road project from Kumar's time as PWD secretary. On October 12, the Assembly passed a resolution moved by Chief Minister VD Satheesan, urging the Union Government to remove Kumar. It is the first such resolution by a state legislature.
Yet police used force in Thiruvananthapuram on September 30. A Youth Congress march against Kumar clashed with SFI and DYFI workers near University College. Youth Congress workers alleged that stones were thrown at them from the hostel.
As members of both student wings clashed, the Kerala Police fired tear gas and later entered the hostel with lathis. Students, protesters and police personnel were injured. Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan criticised the force used against students. Police moved in after the clash, not when the march set out.
On October 8, Congress and INDIA bloc workers marched towards Lok Bhavan in Hyderabad. Police detained Ministers Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar, D Sridhar Babu, Adluri Laxman Kumar and Vakiti Srihari, with TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud. They were taken to Panjagutta police station.
On September 28, police stopped a CPI march to the Election Commission office. A scuffle followed at the barricades.
Student activists gathered at Freedom Park in Bengaluru and tried to march to the Election Commission office. Police detained them as they tried to get past the barricades. AISA Karnataka called on the Congress government to release them and allow the protest.
Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge said on Tuesday that the police action against protesters detained in Bengaluru would be reviewed. He said the right to peaceful protest was fundamental to democracy. Here's the full report by Korah Abraham.
On October 10, Chennai police detained protesters near Elliot's Beach in solidarity with the Cockroach Janta Party's Delhi march. Police said the beach was not a permitted protest site and asked them to apply for another date. The Pioneer put the number above 30. Another outlet reported more than 100.
A protester alleged that police dragged people into vans and mistreated women and students. The DMK's Udhayanidhi Stalin and Kanimozhi criticised the TVK-led government, in which the Congress is a partner.
Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand: scuffles at barricades
In Shimla, Congress workers burnt Kumar's effigy outside the Election Commission office on September 25. A scuffle with police followed and tear gas was fired.
In Ranchi, Congress and Youth Congress workers scuffled with police on October 6 as they tried to break through barricades at the CEO's office.
Delhi Police refused permission for the October 2 gathering at Jantar Mantar. It imposed Section 163, which bars gatherings of more than five people. That day, at least 12 metro stations were shut and internet disruptions were reported around the site.
On October 6, police briefly detained Rahul Gandhi and other MPs marching to the Election Commission. On October 10, police sources said about 1,000 people had been detained. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke was held as he got off his flight at Delhi airport.
Three women journalists accused police officers of sexual harassment during the October 3 detentions. Delhi Police promised a fair and impartial enquiry. Police have consistently said the protests did not have permission. Later, the Delhi Police de-notified Jantar Mantar as a designated protest venue.
The incidents reported as Punjab's took place in Chandigarh, a Union Territory. Its police force does not report to Punjab's AAP government. On September 25, Chandigarh Police used water cannon on Punjab Congress protesters trying to cross barricades.
On October 10, the same force detained AAP leader Manish Sisodia and Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema. Police said protesters tried to break through the security perimeter outside the Chief Electoral Officer's office.
In Jammu, police detained Congress MP Syed Nasir Hussain on September 25. Jammu and Kashmir Police has reported to the Union Government since the state became a Union Territory in 2019.
In Maharashtra, Mumbai Police refused the CJP permission to use Shivaji Park on October 2. It cited the ground's restrictions, noise, traffic and access to nearby hospitals. The protest went ahead anyway. Police later intervened in a scuffle near Shiv Sena Bhavan.
On September 25, police in Bihar used water cannon on Congress workers in Patna. In Odisha, police detained state Congress president Bhakta Charan Das and other leaders outside the CEO's office in Bhubaneswar. In Assam, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi was detained.
Uttarakhand Police stopped a Congress march to the state Secretariat in Dehradun. In Uttar Pradesh, police detained Congress workers in Lucknow on September 28.
Not every BJP-ruled state recorded police action. Haryana Congress held marches and burnt effigies across the state on September 28. The PTI report on those protests mentioned no detentions. In West Bengal, a Left Front rally in Kolkata on October 2 ended at the Gandhi statue in Esplanade. The report on that march mentioned no police action.
Ten days later, police in Kolkata were deployed in force for a Congress march. On October 12, hundreds of Congress workers walked about a kilometre from the Lalit Great Eastern Hotel to Lok Bhavan, the Governor's residence. Police set up barricades before its gates, where the rally ended.
Workers then held a sit-in outside Bidhan Bhavan, the state Congress headquarters, which slowed traffic on CIT Road. The PTI report mentioned no detentions. State Congress president Subhankar Sarkar said protests would be stepped up until Kumar resigns.
Police used the same methods in states ruled by both sides. They refused permission, barricaded routes to election offices, made preventive detentions, and used force when barricades were breached or groups clashed.
The scale differed. Only Delhi saw prohibitory orders across the protest area, metro closures, internet disruptions and detentions running into the hundreds each day. No state government reported measures on that scale.
In opposition-ruled states, police stated their reasons in terms of protest sites and permissions. Those rules apply regardless of the cause. Criticism inside each state came mostly from rivals of the ruling party. The LDF questioned police action in Keralam. The DMK attacked the government in Tamil Nadu. In Karnataka, the student body AISA demanded the detainees' release.
(Compiled by Sajesh Mohan)