Jantar Mantar off map, Delhi’s other protests have nowhere to go

Protests against the violence in Manipur, demands for reservation for Jaats in central government jobs and opposition to piped natural gas were among at least 15 demonstrations planned at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar between October and December.

But on October 9, the site was taken off the list of designated protest spaces, with the Delhi Police naming three alternatives — Burari Ground, Ramlila Ground and CBD Ground. For several groups, however, moving their demonstrations to these venues proved far from straightforward. Some protests never took place.

The Naga Students’ Union was among them; it had planned a demonstration against the violence in Manipur on October 12. Its president, Chipika Zhimo, a 25-year-old Delhi University law graduate, submitted an application at Parliament Street police station on September 29. It was to have around 250 participants.

“But on the day of our planned protest, we got to know that Jantar Mantar had been denotified,” he said.

The Union’s application was among 15 submitted at Parliament Street police station since September 5; none was accepted by the Delhi Police, a police officer said.

Eleven of these protests were scheduled for October 12 or later. The other protest applications included that of the LPG Distributors’ Association (LDAI), Jaat Mahasabha, Citizen Vote Vigilance Committee among others.

Alternative venues out of reach

After learning about the denotification, Zhimo said, members of the Union approached Parliament Street police station to ask how they could proceed. “They recommended that we go to Burari Ground. We were directed to Ashok Vihar police station for permission.”

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At Ashok Vihar, Zhimo got to know that the Burari Ground belongs to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). “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 said.

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

“We are not the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). We don’t have a pan-India presence. We can’t just go to a place without permission and start protesting. We can gather a maximum of 500 people. If our students get involved in cases like Saurav Das (CJP’s co-convenor), it will be very difficult for me to handle that. We were not giving permission so we decided to not protest at all,” Zhimo said.

The LPG distributors, meanwhile, had sought permission to protest on October 26. B S Sharma, national president of LDAI, said the association approached the DDA for permission to hold its demonstration at CBD Ground.

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“Since there was no option on the DDA site to book it for a protest, we booked it under the ‘social cause’ section as we are also a NGO,” said Sharma.

The DDA granted them permission to use part of the ground, he said. However, on the night of October 25, the Delhi Police removed all their tents from the venue. “They said we had sought permission under the wrong criteria. So, I couldn’t protest at the CBD ground,” said Sharma.

The following day, around 5,000 distributors staged a protest on the road opposite the CBD Ground instead. “They let us protest on the road,” he said.

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

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The Rashtriya OBC Mahasangh, which plans to demonstrate on December 14 seeking the inclusion of the OBC column in the caste census, sought permission to hold its protest at Ramlila Maidan after learning that Jantar Mantar was no longer available.

“I received a message from the 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.

“Protesting is a right. We also have a right to protest as much as the CJP does in New Delhi,” he added.

Jantar Mantar had been the site of massive protests and hunger strikes organised by the CJP and other outfits in June-July demanding accountability over alleged exam irregularities, which finally ended with the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

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Police said it had modified its standing order which had laid down guidelines for protests at Jantar Mantar, declaring that the site now stands denotified. The notification had justified the change in venue being effected owing to recommendations made by a committee under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

It also said it was following the Supreme Court’s order on October 9, where the top court had recorded that “suitable alternative sites” for protest “need to be identified and designated”.