NEW DELHI: Around 200 people gathered at Janpath in central Delhi on Friday to condemn alleged assaults on police personnel and the use of abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi at protests, a day before the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) is scheduled to hold a major demonstration at Jantar Mantar.The gathering was organised by the ‘Lal Hit Janata Party’, an outfit apparently named after a popular insect-control brand in a satirical counter to the CJP.“Even if someone abuses an outsider, we tend to stop them. The prime minister is part of our own family, and using such language against him is unacceptable.Abusing our heroes, jawans and Delhi Police personnel must stop, and strict action should be taken against those responsible,” Ayan Bhatnagar, who represented the outfit, said.The demonstrators argued that the current wave of protests was not the right way to seek change in the system.The counter-protest comes ahead of the CJP’s planned demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who has faced allegations of voter-list tampering during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Allegations have also been raised over changes to Form 6, a key document used to register as a voter, with critics claiming that Kumar bypassed his two fellow election commissioners.The CJP and several student groups have accused Kumar of overseeing the deletion of lakhs of voters’ names across the country during the SIR exercise.The planned demonstration follows three consecutive days of protests by INDIA bloc leaders against Kumar.The demonstrations led to heavy police deployment across central Delhi, the closure of metro gates and barricading along key stretches, disrupting movement in parts of the capital.The CJP’s proposed Jantar Mantar protest is expected to add to the security challenge for Delhi Police, which has been preparing for the gathering amid heightened tensions over the electoral-roll revision exercise.
