Senior columnist and author Tavleen Singh has spoken out against the massive security deployment across the national capital, expressing astonishment at the extent of the fortification. Remarking on the situation, Singh stated that she had never witnessed Delhi in such a state, emphasizing that even during the Emergency period, she had not seen this level of lockdown.
Singh pointed out that disruptions affecting metro and train networks cause significant inconvenience to ordinary citizens and students who are demonstrating in support of voting rights. She further questioned the nature of the advice being given to the Prime Minister and government leadership, describing the deployment of border security forces like the BSF at city perimeters as an inefficient use of public funds.
Her comments coincided with heightened tension in central Delhi, where authorities deployed heavy contingents of Delhi Police and paramilitary forces around Connaught Place and pathways leading toward Jantar Mantar. To control movement, officials implemented widespread restrictions that included shutting down local shops, suspending internet access, sealing entry corridors, and closing forty-five metro stations.
Despite the strict measures and closures, various groups of demonstrators, including students, managed to reach the zone on foot after traveling from outer districts to join the march toward Jantar Mantar. The participants raised slogans criticizing the government's actions before law enforcement personnel, including female officers, stepped in to detain multiple individuals across both inner and outer corridors.