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CJP protest-like scenes at Jantar Mantar as ‘Reservation Hatao’ stir draws massive crowd; several detained
Many visuals on X showed police personnel detaining protesters as a large number of people gathered at the site carrying banners and posters
A massive crowd turned up at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi to the call for a protest by ‘Reservation Hatao Andolan’, a social media movement against quotas, prompting the police to detain several individuals on Friday as the agitation swelled despite permission given for it elsewhere — Ramlila Maidan.
The protesters were detained by the Delhi Police on Friday after the police denied permission to hold any form of protest in and around Jantar Mantar in the national capital.
Track Reservation Hatao Jantar Mantar protest LIVE updates here
Many visuals on X showed police personnel detaining protesters as a large number of people gathered at the site carrying banners, posters and saffron flags and raising slogans against caste-based reservation.
The protesters were mobilised through social media sites for the demonstration, demanding that economic criteria be given precedence over caste when determining eligibility for government support and reservation.
Police personnel and paramilitary forces were deployed at key points in the area ahead of the protest, while barricades were put up to regulate the movement of people towards Jantar Mantar.
Delhi Police asked protesters to shift to Ramlila Maidan
The Delhi Police said no permission had been granted for any protest, procession, demonstration or assembly at Jantar Mantar. However, a no-objection certificate (NOC) was issued for a peaceful protest under the banner of "Reservation Hatao Andolan" at Ramlila Maidan on Friday, according to an official communication from the office of the Central District DCP.
The NOC allowed a maximum of 500 people to gather at Ramlila Maidan until 4 pm. Police said they had "no objection" to the protest at Ramlila Maidan from a law-and-order point of view.
How did the anti-reservation protest start?
Like the student protest backed by CJP, this protest too was started on Instagram. The campaign was spearheaded by "Reservation Hatao Andolan", an Instagram-based page that subsequently appealed to people to join a physical demonstration at Jantar Mantar on August 21. The page has 5.6 million followers on Instagram.
The protesters demanded that economic conditions be considered when deciding who should receive government support, including assistance for education, coaching and other needs.
"Our demand is that economic condition should be considered while deciding who needs government support. A poor person, irrespective of caste, should be provided assistance for education, coaching and other needs," a protester associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha said, according to PTI.
