Delhi Metro reopens stations closed ahead of protests against CEC

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) opened the entry and exit gates of all metro stations on Friday evening following day long protests at the national capital's Jantar Mantar and outside the Janpath metro station, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over "vote chori" allegations. 

In a post on X, DMRC said: "Entry and exit gates of all Metro Stations of the Delhi Metro network are now open."

It added that the interchange facility at New Delhi Metro station is also available.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Metro services were affected in view of the proposed mobilisation. Entry and exit at several metro stations remained closed, even though interchange facilities continued at Rajiv Chowk, Mandi House and Central Secretariat stations.

The DMRC had also announced that the interchange facility at New Delhi Metro station "will not be available till further notice".

The stations whose entry and exits were closed included Janpath, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Rajiv Chowk, Seva Teerth, Mandi House, Lok Kalyan Marg, INA, Chawri Bazar, Ramakrishna Ashram Marg, and New Delhi.

The Delhi Police had imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) across the New Delhi district on Friday in view of the agitations.

However, a number of student organisations and opposition parties staged protests at the Jantar Mantar during the day, leading to the brief detention of several leaders and youths.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and workers, who were detained during the protest and were brought to the Fatehpur Beri Police Station in south Delhi, asserted that they were "not afraid of the police" while demanding Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.

Speaking to IANS, former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, who was among the detainees, said: "No FIR is being registered against Gyanesh Kumar over vote theft, but those protesting to demand his resignation are being brutally picked up and taken to police stations. But we are not afraid of the police. The fight for democracy will continue."

Left student unions and CPI-M members also staged parallel protests to demand the CEC's resignation, with several of the students being detained by police.

CPI-M General Secretary M.A. Baby told reporters that thousands of youth and student activists of the party-affiliated Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) had arrived in Delhi from different parts of the country to participate in the protest.

--IANS

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