Congress disputes permission for planned mock impeachment of election chief Gyanesh Kumar
Congress says arrangements for an October 30 event in Delhi were obstructed. Police say they received no separate request for it and that approval for a November 1 rally remains in place.
Congress says arrangements for the INDIA bloc’s planned October 30 mock impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi have been obstructed, The Hindu reported on October 27. Delhi Police says it received no separate request for that event. The dispute concerns a programme planned ahead of a November 1 rally, for which police say their approval remains in place.
Congress’s account of the October 30 event
Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal said the government-run Ashok Hotel initially allowed the event, then withdrew permission after police intervention, according to The Hindu. He said Congress subsequently shifted its plans to Ramlila Maidan, where the party had booked space from October 25 to November 3.
Venugopal said police stopped party workers from setting up infrastructure at Ramlila Maidan two days before his October 27 remarks. He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah directed the obstruction. The Hindu did not independently substantiate that allegation.
Venugopal said 21 INDIA bloc parties planned the mock impeachment as a curtain-raiser to the November 1 rally. He linked the protest to the bloc’s allegations about electoral irregularities and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Those are the bloc’s stated reasons for the event, rather than findings established by the permission dispute.
What Delhi Police says about the November 1 rally
Deputy Commissioner of Police Rohit Rajbir Singh told The Hindu that Congress sought permission for the November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan, but police had received no separate request for the mock impeachment. It was not immediately clear what specific permissions Congress sought for the October 30 event at either venue, or whether that event would proceed.
A police permission letter seen by The Hindu schedules the November 1 rally from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It gives clearance from a law-and-order perspective, subject to prior permission from the authority that owns the land. Delhi Police also denied withdrawing its earlier approval for the rally, The Times of India reported.
The Times of India reported that police sources told ANI the decision on holding the mock event at Ashok Hotel rested with the hotel because its premises were privately owned. That account concerns the hotel venue; the police’s separate statement about the Ramlila Maidan rally says its approval remains unchanged.
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Sources and context
- Congress alleges hurdles to INDIA bloc’s proposed ‘public impeachment’ of CEC Gyanesh Kumar on October 30The Hindu
- 'Won't rest till puppet Gyanesh is removed': Cong claims denied permit for mock CEC impeachment; Delhi Police clarifiesThe Times of India; syndicated from The Times of India article toi-1
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.