Amid the Congress party’s allegation that police officers are delaying their protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the Delhi Police clarified on Tuesday that it has not withdrawn permission for the ‘INDI’ alliance’s rally to be held at Ramlila Maidan on November 1.
The Delhi Police said that a no-objection certificate has been issued from a law and order perspective, and that it is preparing to deploy around 3,500 police personnel for security at the designated protest site and use more than 200 CCTV cameras.
This clarification came amid Congress party allegations that the authorities were delaying their protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
To control the crowd, the police have divided the venue into 14 zones; they have called in 10 companies of reserve forces and also plan to carry out surveillance using CCTV cameras, body-worn cameras, and vehicles equipped with monitoring facilities.
According to the official information sent to Congress leader Manish Chatrath, who is the party’s headquarters in-charge, a no-objection certificate has been issued subject to obtaining prior permission from the land-owning authority and complying with specified conditions.
The letter dated October 17 pertains to Congress’s request to book the Ramlila Maidan from October 25 to November 3 for a rally to be held on November 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The conditions include installing high-definition CCTV cameras in key locations, setting up a control room with monitoring screens, deploying sufficient volunteers, arranging drinking water and separate toilet facilities for women, and ensuring that the meeting concludes by 5 p.m. and that participants disperse.
The letter states that overnight stay is not permitted at the event venue. Organizers have also been asked to ensure that vehicles are parked only in places designated by the traffic police, to prevent disorderly behavior and speech that could disturb communal harmony, and to provide the police with details including the list of invitees and volunteers, the minute-by-minute program schedule, and the registration numbers of the buses. It also states that legal action may be taken or permission may be revoked if these conditions are violated.
A senior police officer said that each of the 14 zones will be monitored by an officer of the rank of Assistant Commissioner, and two zones will be monitored by officers of the rank of Additional Deputy Commissioner.
The police are working in coordination with the rally organizers, traffic police, and other agencies to ensure law and order, traffic management, and the smooth conduct of the event.
The November 1 rally is being held as part of the opposition parties’ campaign against the alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters’ lists. Congress and other opposition parties have accused Kumar of overseeing a flawed election process and have demanded that he resign.