Protesters and political leaders were detained in Delhi and Mumbai over demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Meanwhile, a gym owner was arrested in Uttarakhand over an alleged assault. In trade news, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer discussed ongoing negotiations with India.
In Delhi, several protesters and political leaders including Aam Aadmi Party’s Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi were detained near Jantar Mantar ahead of a proposed demonstration. The Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Manoj Kumar Jha and All India Students’ Association chief Neha Bora were also detained by the Delhi Police. Internet services were suspended in areas around Jantar Mantar, while the main protest area was barricaded.
In Mumbai, the Cockroach Janta Party initiated a protest demanding Kumar’s resignation over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. This exercise has reportedly resulted in crores of Indians being deleted from the rolls.
In a separate incident in Uttarakhand, gym owner Deepak Kumar was arrested for allegedly assaulting a trader. Kumar had purportedly uploaded a social media post about the Ujjain municipal authority demolishing a portion of a mosque as part of a road-widening project ahead of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela.
On the trade front, United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer discussed ongoing negotiations with India. Greer stated that the two sides had identified a ‘universe of items that are sticking points’ but emphasized that an agreement was not imminent. The official also mentioned that US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi could speak again ‘very soon’ to assess progress of the trade deal.
Source:
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