Protests against SIR-CEC intensify, several detained in Mumbai, Pune

Protests backing Cockroach Janta Party's crusade against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and SIR intensified Sunday across several states, with Sena UBT's Aaditya Thackeray and MNS's Amit Thackeray spearheading demonstrations in Mumbai. Mumbai's Shivaji Park turned into a cauldron of heaving agitators, slogans and cheek-by-jowl police deployments. The cousins slammed the "cowardly" and "dictatorial" BJP govt and sought the release of those detained. Near Shiv Sena Bhavan, Amit climbed onto a police van to announce before large crowds that the protests would intensify from Monday. Aaditya called the situation an "undeclared Emergency". He said, "It is BJP versus Bharat. The agitation will continue till CEC Gyanesh Kumar resigns." Aaditya claimed the Centre had put more forces in Delhi than it had during the Kargil War. "Why is BSF in Delhi, deployed against Indian citizens?" he said. Activist Anjali Damania was among dozens detained at Shivaji Park. In Pune, 85 CJP protesters were detained. One agitator urged govt not to "act like a dictator" and demanded SIR be scrapped. In Goa, CJP, backed by the Enough is Enough movement, organised a protest in Panaji. Police detained seven, including councillor corporator Jack Sukhija. A habeas corpus petition in the HC led to an urgent hearing Sunday, with orders for their release. In Hyderabad, 100 protesters gathered at Dharna Chowk. Among those present were M Ranga Sai Reddy and Rajesh Korapaka, Telangana CJP members detained in Bhopal recently while on their way to Delhi. "Cops had pictures of us," said Korapaka. In Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee's TMC, Congress and CPM demanded fresh elections in Bengal. MP Saugata Roy said the opposition would impeach the CEC but "a mass movement must be built before that happens". BJP dismissed the agitations. "In India, there's a fashion among certain people to hold protests," Bengal minister Dilip Ghosh said. He also mocked the former CM, who is in Delhi for the protests, saying she "should join a movement in Bangladesh".

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In Congress-governed Keralam, the assembly is set to adopt a resolution Monday to restore voters excluded in SIR and remove the CEC. With Left supporting the resolution, its passage is certain. Bengaluru saw at least 300 demonstrators at Freedom Park. "Asking questions isn't anarchy. Abusing power is," a placard read.(With inputs from Ahmed Ali, Priyanka Kakodkar, Chaitanya Marpakwar, Prasad Kulkarni, Gitesh Shelke, Sakshat Tornekar, Srishti Lakhotia, Chethan Kumar, Anush S & agencies)

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