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On Gandhi Jayanti, October 2, over a thousand citizens who had gathered for a peaceful protest against Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission’s vote chori were chased down, roughly detained, herded into buses and whisked away to locations unknown.

Concerned citizens were subjected to brute force on the very day India commemorates the peace and non-violence of Gandhi. 

The irony was hard to miss.

The Delhi police, it is learnt, have deployed around 4,000 police personnel, along with additional companies of central forces like the CRPF and the RAF, while 11 Metro stations in and around Connaught Place have been shut.

AISA’s Neha Bora, activist Yogendra Yadav, CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat,  and AAP’s Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Sanjay Singh, were amongst those detained. Not even RJD member of the Rajya Sabha, Manoj Jha, was spared.   

All India Students’ Association (AISA) National President Neha Bora being detained during a protest carried out by political parties and members of AISA, SFI, NSUI and other student bodies against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. Photo: PTI.

The government, it seems, has understood the power of citizens standing together. That is why anyone found standing even in twos or threes in Connaught Place or around Jantar Mantar was quickly picked up and taken away, including curious bystanders and even auto rickshaw drivers. 

All access points to the Jantar Mantar protest have been blocked by multiple layers of barricading and as journalists and protestors gathered at Janpath, a deployment of baton and shield wielding RAF personnel along with........

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