New Delhi : A protest over Delhi’s toxic air crisis at the India Gate sparked controversy after demonstrators displayed posters of top Maoist commander Madvi Hidma, who was killed in a police encounter in Andhra Pradesh last week.
Tensions rose as the protesters on Sunday evening tried to block traffic and allegedly pepper-sprayed police officers attempting to disperse them, leading to an FIR and a wider probe into how the posters surfaced at the demonstration.
A video has gone viral showing a group of protesters sitting in the C-Hexagon area at India Gate and raising slogans against Delhi’s air pollution. Among them, one person holds a poster featuring a sketch of Madvi Hidma, the most-wanted Maoist commander killed by Andhra Pradesh Police on November 18.There were also slogans in praise of the Maoist commander, including “Kitne Hidma maraoge”, “Har ghar se nikalega Hidma” and “Amar rahe Hidma”.
As the sit-in continued, security personnel reached the spot and asked the demonstrators to leave. When the group refuses to vacate, officers begin dispersing them one by one.
Speaking to reporters, a protester said, “Hidma is a tribal person who took up arms to fight for their rights. People may disagree with the method and call it wrong, but they cannot deny the reason behind it… Such repression cannot be inflicted on people who are defending their rights.”
Delhi Police has said that the protesters were removed, citing a Supreme Court order designating Jantar Mantar, not India Gate, as the official site for demonstrations in Delhi.
So far, a total of 23 people have been detained in connection with the demonstration and the alleged attack on personnel. Police have also recovered three cans of pepper spray from the pro-Hidma protesters.
Two FIRs have been registered over the protests — one at Kartavya Path police station against six demonstrators, and another at Parliament Street police station against 17.
Praising the police action against the protesters, Delhi Development Minister Kapil Mishra described it as “a befitting response to such an ideology.”
“Look at yesterday’s protest in Delhi: posters in hand under the guise of pollution, Red Salute slogans on their lips. The new face of jihadis and Naxalites posing as social activists,” he tweeted on Monday.
The protest was organised by the Delhi Coordination Committee for Clean Air against the Delhi government’s so-called “cosmetic measures” such as water sprinklers, cloud seeding, to try and curb the alarming levels of air pollution in the national capital, which has worsened in the past one week.
“When the state makes the air itself poisonous, it becomes necessary for people to unite and raise their voices for their own survival,” the group said in a statement, adding that the toxic air has become a “serious risk” to public health.
While highlighting the Rekha Gupta-led Delhi government’s failure to resolve the crisis, the group argued that the current development model — including mining projects, forest clearances and rapid infrastructure expansion in fragile areas — is driving pollution, displacing communities and worsening extreme weather across the country.
They also alleged that when people speak up, the government responds with “suppression”, claiming activists face detentions, restrictions and efforts to silence dissent.
This was the second such protests against Delhi’s deteriorating air pollution this month.
On November 8, activists and protesters – joined by leaders from Opposition parties such as AAP and Congress – marched towards India Gate, demanding that the government formulate effective policies to combat air pollution in the national capital as the AQI crossed the 400-mark under the severe category in many areas.
The national capital’s Air Quality Index on Monday was again on the brink of turning severe, with the reading clocking in at 397. Out of 39 monitoring stations across the city, 20 recorded severe pollution.
In Noida, the situation was worse, with the AQI reaching 413, also in the severe range.
