TNIE online desk
Denotification means Jantar Mantar is no longer an officially designated venue for organising protests. Delhi Police denotified Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site on October 12, amid recent anti-CEC protests called by pressure group Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which earlier led protests over alleged NEET irregularities and demanded then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
The move does not itself mean protests are banned across the city. Delhi Police has designated three alternative venues for organising protests and demonstrations: Ramlila Ground in Central Delhi, Burari Ground in North Delhi, and CBD Ground in East Delhi. The decision follows recommendations by a committee constituted by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to identify suitable alternatives.
Saurav Das, co-convenor of the CJP, called the move “unacceptable”. In a post on X, he said, “The Jantar Mantar belongs to THE PEOPLE OF INDIA. Did the Ministry of Home Affairs consult with the people of India?...We do not accept this arbitrary decision...Ab poora desh Jantar Mantar ban raha he (Now the whole country is becoming Jantar Mantar)!”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday has also supported the CJP-led protest saying, "Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India. We will reclaim it." Amid mass detention, the LoP said: "Jailing youth...is an act of cowardice. Students. Youth. Journalists. The INDIA bloc. Different banners, one cause. All protests are one: citizens demanding their constitutional rights." The protest was also joined by left-wing student organizations such as All India Students' Association (AISA) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) as well as opposition leaders.
In October 2017, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) sought a ban on protests at Jantar Mantar after residents complained of noise pollution and unhygienic conditions. It directed authorities to shift demonstrations to Ramlila Maidan, around 4 km away.
Jantar Mantar has hosted major protests over the decades, including Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption hunger strike in 2011, the Nirbhaya case protests in 2012, Tamil Nadu farmers’ 40-day agitation in 2017, anti-CAA demonstrations in 2019 and wrestlers’ protests against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in 2023.