Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Saturday alleged that the Delhi Police was stopping people from participating in a gathering of activists and intellectuals in Delhi. He took to X (formerly Twitter) to slam Delhi Police for the alleged high-handedness.
"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," Ramesh said in his post.
"The meeting is perfectly peaceful. There are no street protests. I managed to enter at 10:30 am before Delhi Police started its operations but had difficulty exiting now. This is New India Democracy," he added.
Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, one of the speakers at the event, said, "The police at the gate give us no explanation beyond 'speak to our senior' — completely arbitrary use of police powers against a peaceful program."
Called 'We20', the event is being organised by the 'Working Group on IFIs (International Financial Institutions)'. The organisers have described the gathering as "a people's summit on G20".
"In the run-up to the 18th G20 Leaders’ Summit to be held in New Delhi in early September, a host of people’s movements, trade unions, civil society organisations, and concerned citizens are coming together at the We20: Peoples’ Summit on G20, on August 18-20 in New Delhi," an announcement about the event being carried on the organiser's website.
The list of speakers for the 'We20' summit features prominent public figures, including CPI(M) MP Brinda Karat, RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha, and activist Medha Patkar.
India is currently holding the presidency of the Group of 20 (G20), an intergovernmental forum of 19 countries and the European Union (EU). As chair of the G20 Presidency, India has been organising a bouquet of multilateral conferences with the objective of building unanimity among the collective's member entities to address global challenges.
The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in New Delhi will be held on September 9-10, 2023. It will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.