Around 100 protest outside BMC headquarters in Mumbai, demand CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation

About 100 people gathered outside the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters in Mumbai on Sunday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The protesters alleged irregularities in elections. The gathering took place near the statue of Sir Pherozeshah Mehta.

The protest, called the "Tiranga Samvidhan Satyagraha", was organised by the civil society group "Hum Bharat Ke Log". The plan was to march about 2 km from the BMC headquarters to the Mahatma Gandhi statue near Mantralaya.

The protesters had gathered by 4.21 pm. However, police had put up barricades around the statue and the selfie point area outside the BMC headquarters, and they were not allowed to proceed towards Mantralaya.

Until about 5.30 pm, people kept shouting slogans demanding the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation. Around an hour into the protest, police asked them to vacate the spot, saying permission had not been taken. The protesters then tried to move out of the barricaded area but were stopped immediately.

A woman present, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "I have come here only as a protester, so that no young child is detained. The mother within me pulled me here." After police stopped the protesters, they were asked to vacate the area, and by 5.36 pm people were seen leaving.

Natasha Perera, who took part in the protest, said: "I always give moral support to these protests. This is a way of bringing people together, so that the fight for justice continues over the deletion of eligible voters' names in the SIR [Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll]. Gyanesh Kumar must resign. Our democracy and freedom of expression are in danger. That is why I am showing solidarity to save the country, which is moving towards dictatorship."