New Delhi — Three historic venues of protests in the national capital—Jantar Mantar, Parliament Street and Boat Club—may see a dip in crowds if the Delhi Police has its way.
The Delhi Police's draft guidelines, which are in response to a direction from the Supreme Court seeking guidelines for regulation of protests, propose to limit the number of protesters at the three locations thus: 2,000 at Parliament Street, 1,000 at Jantar Mantar and 100 at the Boat Club, The Indian Express reported on Thursday.
If organisers violate these guidelines, the draft says protesters should be "blacklisted" and not allowed to protest in Delhi's jurisdiction. Among other proposals are a ban on burning of effigies or documents, cooking and littering. Only two protests may be allowed per day and loudspeakers and public address systems may not be allowed without prior permission.
The report says that the Delhi Police decided to curb the number of protestors at Parliament Street, which has the capacity to hold a big gathering of people, after more than 15,000 people participated in the Kisan-Mazdoor Sangharsh rally held on 5 September. Only 5,000 people were expected to show up.
The Supreme Court considered the matter after a petition was filed by the NGO Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan challenging the repeated imposition of Section 144 CrPC to curb protests in central Delhi. The petition had also appealed against the National Green Tribunal's ban on protests at Jantar Mantar.