Protesters seek CEC’s resignationat Lehra Do Tiranga in Mumbai

Demonstrators gathered at Azad Maidan on Friday (October 16, 2026) under the banner of ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the withdrawal of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the release of activists detained in New Delhi.

Keep track | CJP ‘Tiranga’ protest key highlights - October 16, 2026

Amol Asulkar, coordinator of Citizens for Peace and Justice (CPJ), said the demonstration was organised in solidarity with the protesters in New Delhi who have been opposing what he described as an authoritarian rule.

“On one hand, they promote ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’, but on the other, people waving the National Flag in public places and raising slogans such as ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ are being detained and arrested,” Mr. Asulkar alleged.

Manan Desai, a volunteer with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), questioned the SIR exercise.

“Lakhs of names are missing from the voters’ list. This is not acceptable in a democracy. Right to vote is a fundamental right. You cannot deny even a single citizen this right,” he said.

Referring to the reported detention of activists Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das in New Delhi, Mr. Desai said: “What was their crime? They only went there and unfurled the National Flag; that’s it. And they are kept in five-day judicial custody, which is completely unacceptable.”

Mr. Desai also said he was detained two days earlier when protesters attempted to gather at August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai, a site associated with the Quit India Movement.

‘Democracy in the ICU’

“Indian democracy is in the ICU. Everybody should come out on the streets and raise their voice to save Indian democracy and constitutional values,” he said.