Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi has backed the decision to de-notify Jantar Mantar as a protest site, saying the location was ill-suited for demonstrations because of its narrow lanes and proximity to sensitive buildings and offices.
In a post on X, Bedi said every city needed designated spaces for democratic expression, arguing that the administration had erred in choosing Jantar Mantar and failed to correct the decision earlier. Her remarks come after the Delhi Police, in an order issued on October 11, designated Ramlila Maidan, Burari Maidan and CBD Ground in Shahdara as alternative venues for protests.
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‘Every city requires an open space for democratic expression’
“During my lifetime of policing the city of Delhi, I have seen protest sites shift from the PM’s residence and Teen Murti Marg (then Mrs Gandhi’s residence) to the roads of Lutyens’ Delhi in the early 1970s, then to India Gate in the 1980s, and later to Jantar Mantar,” she wrote.
“Every city requires an open space for democratic expression, which we also call a protest, but forgets to provide for,” she added.
Bedi urged city planners to take note, arguing that Jantar Mantar was the least suited to serve as a protest site because of its narrow lanes, proximity to sensitive buildings and offices, and location near Connaught Place, a major commercial hub.
“I think the administration of that time erred in taking that decision and did not correct it all this while. And the consequences are there to see,” she wrote.
She said the Union home ministry had identified Ramlila Maidan and other locations for protests, adding that the shift perhaps required judicial intervention.
“Now we need a clear security and functioning plan for Ramlila Maidan to be stated when according permissions,” Bedi added.
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Why Bedi wants protests shifted to Ramlila Ground
Bedi had earlier also, in July, called for protests to be restricted to Ramlila Ground, citing national security concerns amid demonstrations over NEET at Jantar Mantar and the need to protect public spaces such as Connaught Place.
She had called for restricting protest permissions to Ramlila Ground in an interview with ANI news agency. She argued that demonstrations should be held away from sensitive areas around Parliament and major commercial hubs.
“The main reason is to keep protests away from the gates of Parliament House for national safety,” Bedi had said, advocating a more restrained and technology-driven approach to crowd management.
She had argued that concentrating demonstrations at Ramlila Ground would help protect public spaces and prevent disruption or vandalism in commercial areas such as Connaught Place.
Bedi had also called for changes in crowd management, suggesting that Civil Defence volunteers and women police personnel form the first and second lines of crowd control, rather than heavily armed police personnel being deployed at the outset.
Riot police, she said, should be deployed only as a “last resort” and “strictly on a need basis”.
In a separate post on X at the time, Bedi advocated deploying Civil Defence volunteers to manage student protests, describing them as the first line of defence, similar to the Border Security Force’s role along the country’s borders.
In a video accompanying the post, she suggested that Civil Defence volunteers wearing protective gear but not carrying canes should face protesters. Riot police, meanwhile, should be responsible for protecting the volunteers and preventing violence or damage to public property.
Bedi's remarks had come amid criticism of security forces' actions against protestors who participated in the July 20 Cockroach Janta Party-led protest march to Parliament.