On Wednesday, the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray launched a scathing editorial in its mouthpiece *Samaana*, accusing the Union government of institutionalising authoritarianism after Delhi Police withdrew Jantar Mantar's long‑standing designation as a public demonstration ground.
The editorial points out that recent police orders have forced protestors to move far from the capital's power centre. New permitted sites include Ramlila Maidan, roughly four kilometres from Parliament, the CBD Ground in Shahdara at about twelve kilometres, and Burari Ground, situated twenty to twenty‑one kilometres away.
According to the party, the shift is not merely logistical. Renting Ramlila Maidan now costs upwards of Rs 1.5 lakh per day, requires months‑long advance booking and is often blocked for religious ceremonies or ruling‑party rallies. By contrast, Jantar Mantar had been free and easily accessible. The editorial brands the new financial barrier as an exorbitant “Jizya tax” on dissent.
Drawing parallels with India's freedom struggle, the piece recalls historic agitations that unfolded around Chandni Chowk, Daryaganj and the vicinity of Parliament. It stresses that peaceful assembly is a constitutionally guaranteed right, and that pushing gatherings beyond city limits reveals a deep administrative anxiety.
The criticism follows heightened tension after the Cockroach Janata Party staged demonstrations demanding electoral accountability, prompting heavy security deployment and mass preventive detentions in Delhi. Shiv Sena notes that opposition figures, including Rahul Gandhi, have publicly condemned the crackdown.
Legal challenges to the de‑notification of Jantar Mantar have already been filed in the Delhi High Court. The editorial warns that the historic site, once a living memorial of mass agitations, is being turned into “the tomb of dictatorial tendencies”, and predicts that a government that fears its own citizens is on a countdown to its own end.
Image: mangalorean.com
📰 Source: Mangalorean News