NEW DELHI: Delhi Police has debunked viral visuals of a massive protest being shared on social media, citing that it contains old footage from Jantar Mantar. They have also warned that legal action could be taken against those deliberately spreading misleading content.A video is currently being circulated on social media as showing a live, massive protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. The video was shared by several accounts on X, including Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, who claimed that protests against Kumar had begun in Delhi.Raut had shared the video with a caption saying, “Protests against Gyanesh Kumar Hatao have begun in Delhi, today’s Jantar Mantar scene… A fight to the finish!”The DCP New Delhi account on Saturday called the claim “false” and said the footage was “archived material from a past event”.“The claim of a live, massive protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar today is false. The Video is Old: The footage being shared is archived material from a past event,” the Delhi Police said in a post on X.The police also warned that legal action would be taken against those found deliberately spreading misinformation or circulating misleading content.The video surfaced amid a widening political row over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demands for Kumar’s resignation.The controversy intensified after a report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months on decisions and procedures linked to the SIR exercise.Opposition parties have questioned the conduct of the revision and alleged irregularities, while the Election Commission has rejected the allegations.The Election Commission said on Saturday that decisions taken on SIR, including the nationwide exercise, were approved unanimously by the three-member poll panel. It also clarified that a letter sent to the Cabinet Secretary concerned the functioning of an officer on deputation and was not related to any policy decision of the Commission.The poll panel also announced measures to ease the process for voters who receive notices over discrepancies, including allowing booth-level officers to visit their homes to collect documents and providing online hearings in exceptional cases. It said voters left out of the rolls, as well as young and first-time voters, can seek inclusion through the continuous updation process.
Protests over SIR row
The clarification over the viral video comes as opposition-led protests against the Election Commission have continued.
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The Indian Youth Congress marched from Raisina Road to Jantar Mantar on Friday as part of a nationwide programme demanding Kumar’s resignation. Meanwhile, Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti has called for a protest at Jantar Mantar on September 29, asking people to join a demonstration centred on democratic and secular values.The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) has also threatened nationwide protests from October 2 if Kumar does not resign. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said the agitation would begin in Mumbai on Gandhi Jayanti and then move to other cities.Opposition parties are also expected to discuss the SIR exercise and the functioning of the Election Commission at an INDIA bloc meeting on September 30.
