The opposition INDIA bloc will fight against the denotification of Jantar Mantar as a designated venue for protests and demonstrations in Delhi, Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary D Raja said on Thursday, asserting that people must have a place to express dissent and opposition.

Source: ANI via Latestly

"We discussed the issue in the INDIA bloc meeting, and we decided we should not allow the government to denotify Jantar Mantar; then what is the place for people to express their dissent, their opposition? So we'll have to fight for restoring Jantar Mantar for people's protest, people's actions. This is the India bloc's position," Raja told ANI.

Jantar Mantar was denotified on October 12 as a designated venue for organising protests and demonstrations in Delhi. The Delhi Police has designated three alternative locations for such activities: Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and CBD Ground in East Delhi, according to the ANI report.

Surveillance tender adds a second layer of scrutiny

Separately, an analysis by the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), reported by Security Today, has put a Rs 5.66-crore Delhi Police tender for 338 CCTV cameras, including facial recognition systems, across Central and New Delhi districts under scrutiny, noting that the locations chosen for surveillance overlap with the grounds chosen for protests. The IFF said it found no evidence that the two decisions were coordinated.

Source: Security Today (IFF analysis)

Raja also said he did not know what the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) had given in writing or committed to in the related Jantar Mantar case, adding, "We'll have to wait and see." BJP leader Pratul Shahdeo, in the same ANI report, criticised the Congress and the INDIA bloc over their allegations regarding electoral irregularities — a political claim from the ruling party's side, presented here as his statement, not as an established fact.