Published Oct 03, 2026 | 5:42 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 03, 2026 | 5:57 PM
A woman police officer is seen pushing AISA's Neha Bora (facing away from the camera), apparently detained, on a bus.
Synopsis: The protest against the Chief Election Commissioner continued on day 2. A group of women in Delhi police uniforms were seen pushing and shoving AISA national president Neha Bora inside a vehicle. Protesters defied prohibitory orders and marched towards Jantar Mantar as police, in large numbers, barricaded all roads leading to the otherwise designated protest zone. The Youth Congress filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court against the police’s refusal to grant permission to hold protests at Jantar Mantar.
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday, 3 October, called for the dissolution of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, saying they were elected through “illegal elections”.
“Modi is an illegal Prime Minister, (Amit) Shah is an illegal minister, and all the chief ministers who have been elected anywhere are illegal. All of them should be dissolved, elections should be held, and elections should be conducted through ballot papers,” he told newspersons.
Kharge said the entire country was being run on illegal elections, even as the protest, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over irregularities in the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
“We are at the barricades,” AISA national president Neha Bora declared on Saturday, 3 October.
The protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar continued for the second day in a row, with senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Prashant Bhushan joining Bora at Jantar Mantar.
“Gyanesh will soon be gone,” Bora added. The fiery AISA leader has become a familiar face across India after the July agitation, which culminated in Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as Education Minister following repeated NEET paper leaks.
The All India Students’ Association (AISA) is one of the organisations leading the protest calling for Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
Police were out in full force around Jantar Mantar as protesters defied prohibitory orders clamped on the New Delhi district under Section 163 of the BNSS.
Police registered at least three FIRs in connection with Friday’s protest. Reports said over 1,000 people were detained, as police barricaded the roads leading to Jantar Mantar.
Swarak India leader Yogendra Yadav, who announced his participation on Saturday, said the peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar was a democratic right and it could not be denied through police action.
Bora said detention would not intimidate the protesters. She asked them to rest and regain energy to continue the agitation.
The student leader lauded Kapil Sibal, Prashant Bhushan, Nitya Ramakrishnan, Anjali Bhardwaj and Yogendra Yadav, calling them “heroes”.
“Our Heroes! I hope that when we are your age, we are as strong and steadfast as you all,” she said on X, posting their photographs.
A separate post on Bora’s X handle showed a group of women police personnel shoving and pushing her inside a vehicle. A male protester was seen stepping in between the police and Bora. The video was captioned, “This is Delhi Police’s Peace, Service and Justice”!
ये है दिल्ली पुलिस की "शांति, सेवा और न्याय"! pic.twitter.com/6Uyjh4wBSm
— Neha (@neha_aisa) October 3, 2026
Related: Protest seeking CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s ouster intensifies
In a separate but related development, Indian Youth Congress president Udau Bhanu Chip filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court against the Delhi police denying permission to protest at Jantar Mantar.
Earlier, Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra appealed to people to turn out in large numbers to protest against Gyanesh Kumar.
“11 metro stations shut down. Central Delhi Sealed off. 700 protesters detained. Gyanesh Kumar will go, and so will his master. This fight continues today, 3rd October, 1 PM at Jantar Mantar,” she posted on X.
In Mumbai, Abhijeet Dipke of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) said the youth-led movement will continue fighting to save democracy.
He was responding to a case reportedly filed against him, Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das, and Ratna Singh for holding a mass protest at Shivaji Park on Friday. The protest had gathered thousands of people.
“File more cases, but we will still keep fighting to save our democracy,” he said on X.
Dipke said on Friday that if CEC Kumar continued in office, the CJP would take the protest to Delhi.
“If Gyanesh Kumar doesn’t resign, cockroaches from across India will march to Delhi & protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10,” he said.
(Compiled by Majnu Babu).
