CEC row: Congress plans to hold massive rally at Ramlila Maidan, Delhi Police issues NOC

The Delhi Police has issued a No Objection Certificate NOC to the Congress for holding a rally at Ramlila Maidan with the ground available for booking from October 25 to November 3 a senior police officer said on Saturday reported the ANIDeputy Commissioner of Police Central Rohit Rajbir Singh said the Congress had approached the police after obtaining confirmation from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi MCD that the venue would be available during the periodThe proposed rally comes amid protests by the Congress and other Opposition parties against the Special Intensive Revision SIR of electoral rolls and demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh KumarCongress to complete booking formalitiesSpeaking to ANI DCP Singh said the Congress had first contacted the MCD to check the availability of Ramlila Maidan After receiving a certificate confirming the venues availability the party approached the Delhi Police for permissionThe police issued the NOC on Saturday after discussing the security arrangements required for the event Singh saidThe Congress will now have to submit the certificate to the MCD which owns the land to complete the booking process and begin preparationsSingh added that other organisations or individuals seeking to use the ground could follow the same procedureDelhi designates three alternative protest venuesThe approval comes days after Jantar Mantar was denotified as a designated venue for protests and demonstrations in the national capitalThe Delhi Police has designated three alternative locations for such activities Ramlila Ground Burari Ground and CBD Ground in East Delhi according to the ANIThe change follows a series of protests in Delhi including demonstrations against the SIR of electoral rolls and the demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumars resignationThe Congress has been organising protests against the electoral roll revision with other INDIA bloc parties also opposing the exercise and demanding its rollback the news agency reportedPolice action against protestersSeveral demonstrations in the capital have been accompanied by heightened security and police action More than 100 protesters were detained during one of the recent crackdowns in central DelhiThe Cockroach Janta Partys proposed Lehra Do Tiranga protest also faced police restrictions CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke was detained on Friday to prevent him from leading the planned march at Central Park in Connaught PlaceThe police invoked Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita BNSS imposing prohibitory restrictions on public assemblies in central Delhi as per the PTIDipke was arrested on Saturday for allegedly violating a peace bond furnished earlier in October He was subsequently granted conditional bail police sources saidCJP activists Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were also detained in connection with protestrelated developments They were later sent to five days of judicial custody on October 14 according to party member Ajinkya ShindeThe developments have brought renewed attention to restrictions on protest venues in Delhi as Opposition parties continue their agitation against the SIR exercisewith ANI inputs