No permission for quota reform protest at Jantar Mantar: Police
New Delhi: Delhi Police on Sunday said no permission has been granted to any individual or organisation to hold a protest or gathering at Jantar Mantar over reservation reforms and warned people against assembling there based on “misleading” social media posts.
This comes after several videos and posts surfaced on social media calling upon people to gather at Jantar Mantar on Sunday. “Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which replaced Section 144 of the CrPC, are already in force in New Delhi district,” police said in a statement.
Accordingly, protest marches, processions, demonstrations and assemblies of five or more persons are prohibited in the area, they said.
Citizens are advised not to gather on the basis of such posts or videos and not to forward, share or amplify unverified content, they added.
Police also warned that appropriate legal action will be taken against those found creating, circulating or disseminating fake or misleading information. They appealed to people to rely only on verified information. Union Minister Chirag Paswan has said that the government would engage in dialogue with anti-reservation protesters once they present their demands in a systematic manner. A large number of protesters had gathered at Jantar Mantar carrying banners, posters and saffron flags and raised slogans against caste-based reservation.
The protesters are demanding that economic criteria be given precedence over caste in determining eligibility for government support and reservation. Talking to reporters in Patna on Saturday, Paswan said, “Any sort of misunderstanding around reservation can create anger among a large section of the country’s population. Once the protesters present their demands systematically, the government will engage in dialogue with them.” On the demand for quota on economic basis, Paswan said the NDA government had already introduced 10 per cent reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).