NEW DELHI: Congress on Tuesday accused the Centre of denying permission for an event where INDIA bloc parties planned a “public impeachment” of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, ahead of their November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan.Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said the government-run Ashoka Hotel had initially allowed the event to be held on its premises but later denied permission following police intervention.“The day before yesterday, our people came to construct the infrastructure here and the police stopped them. We don’t know what the reason is,” Venugopal said.“This means it is not the Delhi Police’s decision. It is the decision of PM Modi and Amit Shah, and they are protecting their puppet Gyanesh Kumar,” he alleged.In a social media post on X, Venugopal also accused the Delhi Police of stopping the party doing the set up for the event at Ramlila Maidan.“How many permissions will you deny, Mr. Amit Shah? How many people will you stop? 21 parties of the INDIA bloc had planned a Public Impeachment of Gyanesh Kumar as a curtain raiser to the Nov 1st Mega Rally and March – first at Hotel Ashoka, where permission was denied, and then at Ramleela Maidan, where despite already having all the requisite permissions, Delhi Police stopped us from doing the set up for the event. First they destroy the electoral system, and now they are trying all kinds of tricks to silence those who fight to save our democracy,” Venugopal said.“Let it be very clear, come what may, we will not rest until Modi-Shah’s puppet Gyanesh Kumar is not removed. If they stop us here, we will go to Amit Shah’s house, PM Modi’s house, and stage a massive dharna there. But we will fight to the finish, and until our mission is accomplished,” he added.The proposed event is part of a series of protests by the Congress and other opposition parties demanding Kumar’s resignation over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged electoral irregularities.Delhi Police denies chargesMeanwhile, Delhi Police said it had not withdrawn permission for the Congress rally at Ramlila Maidan, adding that there had been no change in the earlier approval.On the proposed mock Parliament event at Ashoka Hotel, police sources said the matter rested with the hotel, as the premises were privately owned.“With respect to the Ashoka Hotel mock Parliament, Delhi Police says it depends on the hotel since it’s their private premises,” Delhi Police sources told news agency ANI.Earlier, Delhi Police had confirmed that a no-objection certificate (NOC) had been issued to the Congress for booking Ramlila Maidan from October 25 to November 3. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Rohit Rajbir Singh said the Congress had approached the police after obtaining a venue availability certificate from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).Delhi Police’s ‘terms and conditions’Delhi Police has also laid down a list of “terms and conditions” for the Congress rally on November 1, including installing high-definition CCTV cameras at strategic locations, ensuring the event concludes by 5pm and prohibiting speeches that could disturb communal harmony.In its communication to the Congress, police said there was “no objection” to the rally from a law-and-order perspective, subject to prior permission from the land-owning authority and compliance with the stipulated conditions.The organisers have been asked to install cameras at “all the strategic points including entry/exit gates, stage, all surrounding areas of Ram Lila Ground and sitting enclosures”, along with a monitoring system with “atleast 5 screens” and a CCTV control room.They have also been directed to provide “sufficient numbers of water tankers and toilet blocks (separate for female participants)” and deploy volunteers wearing “identical dress or bear common Badges” to ensure the smooth conduct of the rally.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
The rally must conclude at 5pm on November 1, after which “the dispersal will start and under no circumstance will it be extended”. Overnight stays by participants at Ramlila Maidan, either before or after the rally, have also been prohibited.Police has further directed the organisers to ensure that “no speakers would speak anything about caste/creed/colour that can disturb the public harmony, peace and tranquility of the area”.If any “instigating/intimidating speech” is made, “the PA system will be switched off immediately”, followed by the removal of the speaker from the stage by the organisers.
Source link
Auto GoogleTranslater News
