Jean Drèze detained at Jantar Mantar during Delhi voting rights protest

Delhi Police have detained development economist Jean Drèze alongside other demonstrators at Jantar Mantar, abruptly halting a protest against the Election Commission that prompted an extensive security clampdown across the capital on Saturday.

Drèze had joined a demonstration organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which was demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Before being taken into custody, Drèze addressed the gathering, criticising the scale of the police presence deployed to prevent people from reaching the venue.

"The reason why the government is so afraid is not that there is any risk of violence or any security risk," Drèze said at the site. "It is that the government is afraid that the people of this country will understand that their right to vote is being taken away."

What happened at Jantar Mantar

Police moved in to clear demonstrators shortly after speeches began, bundling participants into transport vehicles. Drèze later said officers picked up protesters without giving any official reason at the scene.

The police sweep extended beyond the primary protest area. Demonstrators and commuters were stopped and detained across several central locations, including around Kerala House and Adarsh Nagar, as authorities sought to prevent gatherings from assembling.

Why the CJP called the protest

The protest targeted the Election Commission's handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), a process used to update and clean voter lists. The CJP alleged that the exercise involved widespread irregularities that threaten citizens' voting rights, demanding Kumar step down from his post as Chief Election Commissioner.

Opposition figures and civil society activists voiced support for the demonstration. In Mumbai, activist Tushar Gandhi was also detained in connection with related actions, while Aam Aadmi Party leaders including Arvind Kejriwal were held in Delhi around separate calls to march.

Sweeping security restrictions across Delhi

Ahead of the planned gathering, authorities placed central Delhi under extraordinary operational curbs. Gates at 45 metro stations were ordered shut, mobile internet connectivity was cut across central areas, and multiple inbound passenger trains to Delhi were cancelled.

Paramilitary forces were brought into the city via special train services to reinforce local police barricades. Drèze characterised the display of force as completely disproportionate to any actual threat, arguing that peaceful demonstrators were systematically blocked from exercising their constitutional right to assemble.

Drèze, an influential development economist who has worked extensively in India on poverty, food security and social welfare legislation, remains among the country's most vocal public policy critics. Authorities have not yet confirmed where all the detained protesters were taken or when formal releases will be processed.