Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], October 10 (ANI): Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia, along with several party leaders and workers from Punjab, was detained by the police on Saturday while staging a protest outside the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Chandigarh over the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar issue.
The protest witnessed AAP leaders and cadres marching towards the CEO’s office, raising slogans against the Election Commission and demanding accountability.
Tensions escalated as protesters attempted to break through the security perimeter, prompting the police to intervene and detain several demonstrators, including Sisodia, Harpal Singh Cheema and key Punjab party leaders.
Sisodia demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and extended his party’s support to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) demonstration, shortly before being detained by the police alongside party workers outside the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office in Chandigarh.
Addressing party workers and supporters during the protest, the former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister stated that he was backing the agitation on behalf of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
“On behalf of Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann, I support the CJP protest. We also demand that Gyanesh Kumar resign. The demand to remove Gyanesh Kumar is coming from Chandigarh and Punjab too,” Sisodia told the gathering.
Mounting a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the senior AAP leader claimed that elections were being manipulated.
“Narendra Modi should not be praised for this. Those who praise Narendra Modi for his victories are traitors to the country’s democracy. Even those who praise him know that Narendra Modi doesn’t win elections honestly. He wins elections by stealing votes. Narendra Modi has won all his elections by stealing our votes at night,” Sisodia alleged.
Referring to previous assembly polls in the national capital, he added, “Just a year and a half ago, the Delhi elections were held. In Arvind Kejriwal’s constituency, the New Delhi assembly, they got 40,000 votes cut. These 40,000 votes are stolen.”
Meanwhile, around 200 more protesters were detained in the Connaught Place area of the national capital while attempting to march towards Jantar Mantar, Delhi Police sources said on Saturday.
Delhi Police continued to detain activists after informing them that permission had not been granted for the protest.CJP activist Abhijeet Dipke, who travelled from Mumbai to Delhi to participate in the protest, posted a video on Instagram alleging that police personnel were detaining him and his associates as they disembarked from their flight at Delhi Airport.
Earlier, Delhi Police detained around 500 people who arrived in different groups from various locations ahead of the planned protest in the national capital. Nearly 50 people with criminal antecedents were also apprehended as part of preventive measures, officials said.
“Around 500 people coming in different groups from various locations have been detained. In addition, nearly 50 anti-social elements with criminal antecedents have been picked up so that they do not disturb the atmosphere or incite trouble,” Delhi Police said.
As part of the security arrangements, the New Delhi district was divided into 20 operational zones, with dedicated detention centres established for each zone, police said.”The New Delhi district has been divided into 20 zones, and dedicated detention centres have been set up for each zone. Stadiums across the national capital have also been converted into temporary detention centres,” the police added. (ANI)
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