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.

Amey Gadigaonkar, a Class 12 student and CJP supporter, questioned the detention of protesters for waving the National Flag.

“Why is waving our own National Flag considered a crime in this country? What will common people do?” he said.

Mr. Gadigaonkar alleged that personnel without visible police badges had assaulted protesters in New Delhi. However, he acknowledged the cooperation extended by the Mumbai Police in facilitating Friday’s demonstration.

“The Mumbai Police cooperated with us a lot,” he said, appealing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiate dialogue with the protesters.

‘No spaces to protest’

Ali Bhojani, representing Hum Bharat Ke Log, criticised the restriction of demonstrations to Azad Maidan, arguing that infrastructure development had reduced the space available for protests.

“The honourable High Court has designated only Azad Maidan in Mumbai as a protest site. But if we look at Azad Maidan over the past few years, the way this ground has been broken, twisted, and cut up, nothing is left here,” he said.

He urged the Bombay High Court to allocate protest sites across Mumbai, including near the Mahatma Gandhi statue outside the Mantralaya.

“Unless our voice reaches power, our protest is meaningless. There should be multiple places across Mumbai where we can directly connect with people and those in power. Azad Maidan is no longer acceptable as a protest site,” he said.

“Gyanesh Kumar is a national disgrace for all UPSC officers. Such a corrupt, degraded officer has rarely come out of the UPSC,” he added.

Anti-SIR campaigns

Harshada, associated with DISHA, said activists were conducting anti-SIR campaigns across States through the Bhagat Singh Janadhikar Yatra, alleging that the exercise could disenfranchise marginalised communities.

“We are running anti-SIR campaigns across different States to ensure that information about the exercise reaches every household. We want people to understand how this exercise is anti-people and how it could affect Muslims, Adivasis, women and other marginalised communities,” she said.

Harshada alleged that the SIR exercise was being used to implement parts of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) through electoral processes.

“Wherever elections have been held following the SIR exercise, fresh elections should be conducted using the original voters’ lists. We want a complete investigation into the alleged electoral irregularities and vote theft,” she said.

The protesters also demanded Mr. Kumar’s arrest, the replacement of electronic voting machines (EVMs) with paper ballots, and the withdrawal of criminal cases against demonstrators.

“We are exercising our basic right to protest. We have committed no crime, yet protesters are being detained and treated like criminals,” she said.

The Mumbai Police granted permission for the demonstration between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Friday, subject to conditions including a maximum gathering of 5,000 people and restrictions on loudspeakers, weapons and activities that could disturb public peace.