Saurabh Bharadwaj, AAP Workers Detained During Jantar Mantar Protest

Bharadwaj had appealed to party workers and supporters to join the mobilisation, while questioning the extensive security arrangements put in place around central Delhi.

He told reporters that he had travelled to Jantar Mantar using the Metro and an auto-rickshaw and urged supporters to make their way to the protest site. Bharadwaj also criticised the restrictions and heavy police deployment around the area.

The Delhi Police had denied permission for the proposed gathering, which was organised amid opposition and civil society concerns over the SIR exercise and demands for action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Police subsequently imposed restrictions across the New Delhi district under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), citing public safety, maintenance of public order and traffic management.

The restrictions bar unauthorised gatherings, demonstrations, processions, dharnas, public speeches and slogan shouting, with police warning that violations could lead to legal action. Security was significantly strengthened around Jantar Mantar, with barricades and additional personnel deployed ahead of the planned mobilisation.

The protest has brought together opposition parties, student organisations and civil society groups raising concerns about the Election Commission's functioning and the SIR process. AISA, SFI and other student groups were among those expected to participate, alongside parties including the AAP, Congress and RJD.

Opposition groups have alleged irregularities in the electoral-roll revision process and have raised demands concerning the Election Commission and Gyanesh Kumar. The Election Commission, meanwhile, has maintained that the SIR exercise and related electoral-roll revisions are being carried out according to established procedures.

The Jantar Mantar mobilisation is part of a wider opposition campaign around the electoral-roll revision process. Opposition parties have also announced a “Save Democracy” campaign involving district-level programmes, with a larger gathering planned outside the Election Commission's office on October 6.