LIVE: Over 20,000 security personnel deployed in Delhi ahead of INDIA bloc march

More than 20,000 police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed across central Delhi ahead of the INDIA bloc’s Friday march to Rashtrapati Bhavan, sources said. Opposition leaders are seeking President Droupadi Murmu’s intervention over their demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.

Security has been strengthened around Parliament, Connaught Place, Jantar Mantar and routes towards Rashtrapati Bhavan, with additional Central Armed Police Forces contingents, pickets and barricades positioned at key locations. Police have advised commuters to follow traffic advisories as restrictions and diversions could affect movement.

The deployment also comes ahead of an indefinite sit-in called by student and citizens’ organisations, including the Cockroach Janata Party, at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, 10 October. The groups have reported detentions and intimidation across several states ahead of the protest against alleged electoral manipulation. They are demanding Kumar’s immediate resignation, cancellation of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and reforms to safeguard electoral integrity.

Government orders action on misleading protest posts

The government has issued an advisory to major social media companies, asking them to prioritise action against unlawful content linked to ongoing protests. According to officials, platforms should act on complaints received from authorised bodies, including law enforcement agencies.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued the advisory on 8 October, expressing concern over the online circulation of protest-related information that is false, misleading, manipulated or presented out of context.

Congress says Delhi deployment shows government’s ‘panic’

Congress on Friday criticised the heavy security deployment in Delhi ahead of the Cockroach Janata Party’s 10 October protest, saying it reflected the Modi government’s “panic and unease” after four consecutive days of INDIA bloc demonstrations.

Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput said protests would continue until Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was removed, adding that the party would seek his dismissal by the President. He accused Kumar of electoral fraud, claiming he had sought the deletion of 16 lakh voters’ names in the Supreme Court and deprived another 27 lakh people of voting rights over “logical discrepancies”.

Security has been stepped up around Vijay Chowk as opposition MPs prepare to march to Rashtrapati Bhavan over their demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s removal.