Jantar Mantar police action sparks political storm in Haryana | Chandigarh News
Rohtak: Police action against protesters at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar has triggered a political storm in Haryana, with Congress, JJP and other bodies’ functionaries and women’s organisations alleging mistreatment of demonstrators. Former Haryana agriculture minister Om Prakash Dhankhar, however, criticised the opposition.The protest, organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), had sought chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. Congress has announced a demonstration in Delhi on Oct 12, with Haryana functionaries urging party workers and women to participate.Former chief minister and leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda questioned the police action, saying peaceful protest was a fundamental democratic right. “I will also come to Delhi. Let us see who stops us,” Hooda said, calling the treatment of protesters unacceptable. He accused the govt of suppressing democratic voices and backed demands for greater electoral transparency, including the use of ballot papers.Former education minister Geeta Bhukkal said women protesters were manhandled, dragged along the road and had their clothes torn. Condemning the incident, she said women’s voices would not be silenced and urged them to join the Oct 12 demonstration.Suman Hooda, state president of the women’s wing of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni), alleged that women protesters were detained until after 8 pm, physically assaulted and molested before being forcibly put on buses. She also claimed that journalists, including women reporters, were detained and assaulted despite displaying their identity cards.Jagmati Sangwan, national vice-president of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), condemned the police action, claiming thousands of protesters were detained. She alleged that young women were assaulted and dragged along the road and media personnel were also targeted.Former deputy chief minister and Jannayak Janta Party functionary Dushyant Chautala described the incident as an assault on democracy. He questioned the scale of the security deployment, backed calls for Kumar’s resignation and urged political and social organisations to discuss the issue collectively.Dhankhar rejected the allegations against the Election Commission, saying Kumar had performed his duties properly and there was no justification for demanding his resignation. He questioned the criticism of the electoral process, arguing that the party’s govts in several states showed the system could not simply be dismissed as unfair.
