Delhi Police objects to 'We20 meeting', saying no prior permission taken; CPI(M), Ramesh slam action

Ramesh said the meeting was perfectly peaceful with no street protests and while he managed to enter the venue at HKS Surjeet Bhavan at 10.30 am, it was difficult to get out.

New Delhi:A row erupted here after police objected on Saturday to a conclave at a CPI(M)-owned building, where activists and opposition leaders had gathered to critically evaluate the government's narrative on G20, claiming the organisers did not inform or take permission for the event held in a "sensitive" zone.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed that people were stopped from attending the 'We20 meeting' held at the Harkishan Singh Surjeet Bhawan on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg in a high-security area and questioned the police action against a "peaceful" meeting. The CPI(M) contended that no police permission was required for such meetings or seminars in private buildings and said the "Modi government must stop interfering, through the Delhi Police, in the democratic right of citizens to hold discussions and seminars in the capital".

The police said that after information was received, it found that people were gathered and a tent was also erected at the building. The organisers could not produce any valid permission, a senior police officer said, adding that they had not intimated the police about the programme and the gathering.

DDU Marg is a sensitive zone and in view of the upcoming G-20 event, no gathering without any prior permission or intimation can be allowed, hence the organisers were advised to remove tents and asked not to continue the programme without a valid permission, the officer said.

The CPI (M) alleged the action of the Delhi Police was uncalled for and an attempt to suppress dissenting opinions being voiced. "The Surjeet Bhawan is owned by the CPI(M) where it conducts various activities, including party education and seminars. Various civil society organisations, under the banner of We20, were conducting a meeting on the issues raised by the forthcoming G20 summit," the party said in a statement.

"The CPI(M) strongly protests against this arbitrary action of the Delhi Police. The Modi government must stop interfering, through the Delhi Police, in the democratic right of citizens to hold discussions and seminars in the capital," it said. In a post on X, Ramesh said the meeting was perfectly peaceful with no street protests and while he managed to enter the venue at 10.30 am, it was difficult to get out.

"It is extraordinary that Delhi Police is stopping people from attending the We20 meeting organised by activists representing 'We, The People', inside a building that belongs to the CPM," Ramesh said. "The meeting is perfectly peaceful. There are no street protests. I managed to enter at 10:30 am before Delhi Police started its operation but finding it difficult to exit now. This is New India Democracy," he said.

The organisers of the event, in a statement, alleged that "in an unbelievable step, Delhi Police barricaded the gates to Surjeet Bhawan not letting anyone in around 11 am." "This when Jairam Ramesh, Aneel Hegde, MP (RS), Medha Patkar (NBA), Vandana Shiva (Navdanya), Anjali Bhardwaj, Nikhil Dey, Thomas Franco, Shaktiman Ghosh and others were analysing how the Modi administration projected to the global leaders of G20 that he is governing India in the best traditions of liberal democracy," it said.

As multiple sessions were underway, "a large battalion of Delhi Police swept into the venue demanding the seminar be shut down", the organisers alleged. "None of the participants agreed, demanded the police leave and also ensure the seminar participants' fundamental right to meet and discuss public concerns is protected," a statement issued by the Working Group on International Finance Institutions (WGIFIs) said.

All scheduled sessions continued smoothly with enthusiastic participation from over 400 participants despite the attempt to halt the programme, it said. The three-day programme will continue as planned and would end with a cultural programme in the evening of August 20, it said.

WGIFIs claims to be "a collective of organisations and individuals to critically look at and evaluate the policies, programmes and investments of various International Finance Institutions". (PTI)