Mobile internet services have been suspended within a 1.5-km radius of Jantar Mantar till midnight as student protests continue in the national capital. Jantar Mantar is the protest site of the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which has been holding demonstrations for the past 34 days.
Authorities have also imposed Section 163 outside Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence, where police have been issuing warnings in the area. The restrictions come as the administration steps up security measures amid the continuing protests.
Security Tightened, Businesses Feel The Impact
The ongoing standoff has also disrupted normal life in parts of Delhi. All shops and restaurants in Connaught Place were shut after 6.30 pm on Thursday following an advisory issued by the New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA) in view of the prevailing situation.
The developments highlight how the prolonged protest has begun affecting not only law and order arrangements but also commercial activity in one of the capital's busiest business districts,NDTV reports.
Political Attention Grows As Deadlock Continues
Meanwhile, opposition MPs and leaders of the INDIA alliance reached the Gandhi Smriti memorial on Delhi's Tees January Marg on Thursday after holding a meeting on the crackdown on protesters. The meeting took place at the residence of the Leader of the Opposition in Sunheri Bagh.
Talks between the CJP and the Centre remain stalled even as the protest entered its 34th day. The Centre said it had reached out to the party four times without receiving a response. After meeting Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said the government's doors were "always open" for talks with students and invited protesters to meet either at BJP president JP Nadda's residence or office. However, the CJP maintained that any discussion should take place only at "a neutral place near Jantar Mantar."
'Come To Jantar Mantar': CJP Rejects Govt Venue, Invites Ministers To Protest Site Or Constitution Club For TalksWith neither side willing to change its position on the venue for talks, the stalemate continues, even as security measures are tightened and the protest's impact spreads beyond the demonstration site.
