Mamata-AITC asks why Manipur lacks security as Delhi Police files FIRs on 'tiranga' protest

• Kunal Ghosh questions the heavy deployment of police and paramilitary personnel against anti-SIR protesters, citing prolonged ethnic conflict in Manipur.

• Delhi Police registers multiple FIRs over alleged violations of prohibitory orders during Friday's protests in Connaught Place.

• CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and student leader Neha Bora were detained ahead of the demonstration.

Mamata-AITC MLA Kunal Ghosh has questioned the heavy deployment of police and paramilitary personnel to contain protests against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi, asking why similar security arrangements were not made in Manipur, which has been gripped by ethnic violence for more than three years.

Responding to Union defence minister Rajnath Singh's accusation that the Opposition was seeking regime change along the lines of Bangladesh and using young people to spread “anarchy”, Ghosh said the deployment of security forces against young protesters reflected the government's inability to answer their questions.

“We do not support anarchy. But when the new generation raises questions on an issue, it is your responsibility to convince them,” the MLA from the Mamata Banerjee Trinamool faction said.

“You have so much police and paramilitary forces at your disposal. Why deploy them against the youth? You should have sent this many police and paramilitary to Manipur. If you had sent them to Manipur at the right time, the problem there would have been solved,” he said.

Manipur has been affected by ethnic violence between the valley-based Meitei and hill-based Kuki communities since May 2023. The conflict has claimed at least 306 lives, while several people remain missing. Around 50 people have also been killed in clashes between Kukis and Nagas in the state since February this year.

Ghosh's remarks came amid protests by Opposition parties and youth groups in the national capital demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had called for a 'Lehra Do Tiranga' march in central Delhi on Friday, 16 October. Hundreds of CJP supporters and student activists staged flash protests across Connaught Place amid a heavy security deployment.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and student leader Neha Bora were among those detained by police ahead of the demonstration.

Delhi Police has registered multiple first information reports (FIRs) in connection with alleged violations of prohibitory orders in Connaught Place, police sources said on Saturday.

“Despite repeated announcements asking people to disperse, a crowd gathered in and around Connaught Place on Friday, prompting the police to initiate legal action,” a source said.

The prohibitory orders, issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), barred mass gatherings in Connaught Place and adjoining areas.

Protesters have accused the Election Commission of arbitrary deletion of voters' names during the revision exercise. The BJP, meanwhile, has accused Opposition parties of politicising the issue and attempting to create unrest.

With PTI inputs