The Delhi Police on Saturday stopped participants from attending a meeting critical of the G20 summit titled “We20 People’s Summit”, claiming that the event was being held without permission.
Over 30 police personnel arrived at the Surjeet Bhavan, the venue for the event. The police initially urged those attending to leave, but later restricted themselves to stop more people from entering the Surjeet Bhavan.
Writer and political activist Kavita Kabeer, who is part of the organising committee of the programme, said “But these are closed hall meetings and don’t really need permission,” The Wire reported.
“Even as multiple sessions were underway at HKS Surjeet Bhawan, in Delhi, as part of the We20 program, a forum where representatives of peoples movements, trade unions, civil society, were gathered to discuss and debate the implications of Modi government, a large battalion of Delhi Police swept into the venue demanding the seminar be shut down,” the organisers said.
The summit has been organised from August 18 to August 20 to discuss issues related to shrinking democratic spaces, inequality, privatisation of public services, agriculture and climate crisis, among others. On Friday, it was attended by a host of political leaders and activists, including Teesta Setalvad, Medha Patkar, Jayati Ghosh, Manoj Jha, Harsh Mander, Arun Kumar, Brinda Karat, Hannan Mollah, Rajeev Gowda among others. Among those who were speaking at the event today were Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, food sovereignty advocate Vandana Shiva, and Janata Dal (United) MP Aneel Hegde.
“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 [Communist Party of India (Marxist)]. I managed to enter at 10:30 am before Delhi Police started its operations but had difficulty exiting now. This is New India Democracy,” Jairam Ramesh wrote on X.
