Published Sep 25, 2026 | 5:50 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 25, 2026 | 6:15 PM
AISA's Neha Bora was among the protesters detained at Jantar Mantar.
Synopsis: Jantar Mantar was heavily barricaded on Friday as several organisations and activists took to the streets demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Several activists were detained. The SIR row intensified after The Indian Express front-paged an investigative report alleging that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had, on multiple occasions, objected to processes involving voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, and the functioning of the Election Commission’s electoral-roll technology.
The row over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hit the streets on Friday, 25 September, as several organisations held protest rallies demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
Delhi police were out in large numbers and set up barricades at Jantar Mantar, the designated protest zone in the national capital.
The SIR row intensified after The Indian Express front-paged an investigative report alleging that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had, on multiple occasions, objected to processes involving voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, and the functioning of the Election Commission’s electoral-roll technology.
After the report was published, the Election Commission of India said differing views were part of institutional deliberations and that decisions were unanimous.
Also Read: SC plea seeks criminal prosecution of CEC Gyanesh Kumar
On Friday, police detained CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, activists Yogendra Yadav and Anjali Bharadwaj, All India Students’ Association national president Neha Bora, and other protesters from Jantar Mantar.
SFI workers being detained in New Delhi.
“Students protesting at Jantar Mantar brutally detained to protect CEC Gyanesh Kumar, who has sold out the electoral system and the nation [sic],” Bora said on X. AISA demanded the impeachment and arrest of Kumar.
The SFI and DYFI said the brutal police crackdown on the peaceful SFI-DYFI protest demanding Kumar’s resignation was a shameful assault on democratic rights and the people’s right to demand free and transparent elections in the country.
“The grave mismanagement during Gyanesh Kumar’s tenure, with the political backing of the Sangh Parivar-led government, demands a thorough and impartial investigation. Those responsible must be held accountable, and the credibility of the country’s electoral process must be restored,” the CPI(M)’s students’ and youth organisations said in a joint statement, and vowed to continue the agitation until Kumar resigned.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) fuelled the controversy on Thursday, 24 September, issuing a 48-hour ultimatum to CEC Kumar to resign. It warned of nationwide protests from 2 October if Kumar did not step down.
Meanwhile, the Indian National Congress launched protests across the country against Kumar. Congress workers held demonstrations in Delhi, Bihar, Assam, Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, demanding Kumar’s resignation. In Delhi, protesters held a rally outside the Election Commission’s office.
In Chandigarh, police used water cannons to prevent protesters from crossing the barricades.
The Congress alleged that SIR targeted Gen Z voters for exclusion.
A Gen Z uprising led by the CJP and joined by AISA, SFI and AISF led to the resignation of the then Union Minister for Education, Dharmender Pradhan, over the flawed conduct of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), which saw multiple question paper leaks.
Students protesting at Jantar Mantar brutally detained to protect CEC Gyanesh Kumar who has sold out the electoral system and the nation. pic.twitter.com/rlNiAC0xb4
— Neha (@neha_aisa) September 25, 2026
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
