Jantar Mantar ban pushes smaller protest groups in permission maze

New Delhi: The denotification of Delhi’s Jantar Mantar from the designated protest list has not just impacted the movement by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), but has also paralysed other protests that do not have the same pan-India bandwidth.

On October 12, following the growing intense protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the alleged irregularities in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and disagreements between the other two Election Commissioners, the Union Home Ministry denotified Jantar Mantar, the focal point of the protests. It named three alternatives: Burari Ground, Ramlila Ground and CBD Ground.

Small scale demonstrators protesting for big causes have been left scrambling for permissions. At least 15 demonstrations were lined up between October and December, the Indian Express reported. These were Naga Students’ Union protests against Manipur violence, LPG Distributors’ Association (LDAI), Jaat Mahasabha and Citizen Vote Vigilance Committee, among others.

Naga Students’ Union protest was scheduled to take place on October 12 with 250 participants. Nearly two weeks ago, they submitted an application at Parliament Street Police Station, only to be rejected.

“We approached the police asking what to do next. They recommended that we go to Burari Ground. We were directed to Ashok Vihar Police Station for permission,” said union president Chipika Zhimo.

The Ashok Vihar Police told the students to approach the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) as the ground comes under their jurisdiction. “We then went to the DDA office. We were told we will have to fill out an online application. When I went to the website, Burari ground was not listed among the options,” he told Indian Express.

The union finally held a press conference at the Press Club of India on October 22 instead of a protest.

“We are not the CJP. We can’t just go to a place without permission and start protesting. If our students get detained and involved in cases, it will be very difficult for me to handle that. We decided not to protest at all,” Zhimo said.

In anothe case, the LPG Distributors’ Association (LDAI) got the required DDA permission and were all set to protest on October 26. But a night before, Delhi Police removed all their tents. “They said we had sought permission under the wrong criteria,” said LDAI national president BS Sharma.

“We were shocked. We instead protested on the roads opposite the CBD Ground with 5,000 distributors instead. They let us protest on the road,” he said.

Althought not far, the Rashtriya OBC Mahasangh had plans to demonstrate on December 14 seeking the inclusion of the OBC column in the caste census.

“I received a message from the Station House Officer (SHO) saying that no protest is allowed at Jantar Mantar. We had demanded a space for a mere 500 people. But since we knew about the de-notification, we sought permission to protest at Ramlila Maidan,” said general secretary Sachin Bhaurao Rajurkar.

The denotification has left smaller organisations struggling to find alternative venues and navigate multiple layers of permissions, forcing some to abandon their demonstrations altogether.

“That’s why Jantar Mantar shouldn’t be denotified. What’s the point of protesting at a place where you are not even visible?” Sharma asked.

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