Delhi Police Detain Four Former Chief Ministers at Protest

Four former chief ministers and several opposition lawmakers were detained by Delhi Police on Saturday as they attempted to join a demonstration in the Indian capital against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The detentions affected leaders from multiple opposition parties who were protesting election-related allegations near Jantar Mantar.

Those detained included former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, according to NDTV. Police also detained several student and opposition leaders seeking to participate in the demonstration organized by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).

Banerjee and five Trinamool Congress lawmakers, including Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen, were detained from South Avenue in central Delhi. Police took them away in a bus after stopping the group from proceeding toward the protest site.

Banerjee had staged a sit-in at a bus stop after police blocked her route. Images accompanying the coverage showed her wearing a bandage over her mouth during the protest.

In a video statement recorded inside the police bus, Banerjee said, "The government is misbehaving with us," according to NDTV.

She also reaffirmed the opposition coalition's commitment to continuing its campaign.

"We the INDIA alliance will continue to fight to strengthen people's voice," Banerjee said.

Kejriwal was also detained after attempting to leave his residence, which had been surrounded by Delhi Police since the morning, to join the demonstration. In a video message following his detention, the former Delhi chief minister urged young people to continue opposing the alleged electoral wrongdoing.

"Youth of India will not be scared. We will fight against vote chori. Everyone should come out and protest," Kejriwal said.

Vijayan and Communist Party of India (Marxist) lawmaker John Brittas were among those taken to a detention center at Chhatrasal Stadium. Sarkar was also detained during the police operation, NDTV reported.

Banerjee had arrived in Delhi on Friday to participate in the opposition campaign against Kumar. She joined an INDIA alliance delegation that met President Droupadi Murmu that evening to demand the chief election commissioner's removal.

During the meeting, opposition leaders raised allegations of electoral wrongdoing and called for Kumar's resignation and the repeal of all Assembly elections held over the preceding two years. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said he was "shocked" that the president did not deny the election theft allegation.

Sources later told NDTV that claims by Gandhi suggesting Murmu had accepted the opposition's allegations were incorrect.

Following the presidential meeting, Gandhi said opposition leaders planned to meet Chief Justice Surya Kant at the Supreme Court on Monday and submit a memorandum. The INDIA alliance also announced a major protest against alleged Election Commission irregularities for Monday.

Earlier on Saturday, police detained CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das after they arrived in Delhi by plane to participate in the demonstration.