In the last few days, we have seen the student movement, the civil society movement, and the protests of the opposition parties have all been united.
Seeing this as a threat, the government has now started the crackdown on protesters and shamefully arrested Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde for merely protesting at Jantar Mantar. While Ajinkya Shinde has been released on the basis of a personal bond, the continued arrest of Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka raises deep troubling questions. This is a dangerous precedent and has to be fought unitedly. For the protest at Jantar Mantar, the Delhi Police under Amit Shah’s directions has opened up a new front of arrests of activists who have been demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar. The illegal detentions, police brutalities on women protesters, and other students have brutally exposed how Delhi Police operates. In order to shield Gyanesh Kumar from resignation and break the unity, and create an atmosphere of fear, the Delhi Police is using these arrests to clamp down on the movement that has been united and been building since the past few weeks.
The denotification of Jantar Mantar as a protest site was the beginning of this assault. Reclaiming Jantar Mantar, demanding accountability from the Election Commission of India through the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, halting the SIR, and repealing of 2023 Election Commissioners Act are all the common demands of the protesting students. We appeal to everyone to stand united and demand the immediate release of Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das for demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar and protesting against the denotification of Jantar Mantar. AISA
