India News | CJP Activists Sent to 5-day Judicial Custody, Opposition Targets Centre; Dipke Calls for Tiranga March
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Delhi Police on Wednesday arrested Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) activists Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and others for allegedly trespassing at Jantar Mantar.
New Delhi [India], October 14 (ANI): Delhi Police on Wednesday arrested Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) activists Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and others for allegedly trespassing at Jantar Mantar.
Later, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were sent to five days of judicial custody following their detention, party member Ajinkya Shinde said, asserting that the activists would not be intimidated by the action.
Delhi Police said it arrested three CJP activists, citing alleged repeated attempts to disturb public peace, violate the law and instigate others through social media to engage in similar unlawful activities.
According to a Delhi Police statement, the action followed an incident on the morning of October 13, when the three activists and 11 other CJP members allegedly entered the denotified Jantar Mantar protest site through private premises.
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Police personnel deployed at the spot intervened and attempted to stop them. However, the protesters allegedly obstructed police personnel in the discharge of their official duties, the police statement claimed.
Police detained all 14 persons and registered two FIRs in connection with the incident. FIR No. 289/26 was registered at Connaught Place police station under Sections 223(a), 332 and 61(2), while FIR No. 128/26 was registered at Parliament Street police station under Sections 221, 115(2), 132, 121(1) and 3(5).
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke confirmed the arrest, saying, "Ashu and Saurav have been sent to 5 days' judicial custody. Their fault? Unfurling the tricolour at Jantar Mantar. Show some guts, @narendramodi. If you’re so determined to crush dissent, have the courage to officially declare an Emergency instead of hiding behind these cowardly tactics."
Speaking to reporters, CJP's Ajinkya Shinde, who had also been under preventive arrest with Das and Ranka, alleged that the activists were detained for waving the Tricolour and raising slogans of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.
"You must know that today Ashutosh, Saurav Das, and I, along with CJP volunteers, went towards Jantar Mantar, and we just waved the Indian flag and shouted Vande Mataram. So for this, this Modi-Shah fascist government has sent Saurav Das and Ashutosh to jail for 5 days," he said.
Drawing a comparison with the British era, Ajinkya said freedom fighters had been jailed for raising patriotic slogans and waving the national flag during the struggle for independence.
"You might have heard earlier that during the British era, when our revolutionary comrades fought for freedom, the British would put them in jail when they hoisted the Indian flag. And that same British government is now being run in this country by Modi and Shah. I want to tell Modi and Shah that your arrogance will soon come to an end," he said.
Following the arrest, Opposition leaders mounted a concerted offensive against the Centre over the judicial remand, questioning whether unfurling or holding the national flag in one's own country had become a crime.
Joining the chorus, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi backed peaceful protests at Jantar Mantar, saying that waving the national flag during a demonstration was not a crime and describing the jailing of young people for doing so as an act of cowardice.
In a post on X, Gandhi said, “Waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar in a peaceful protest is not a crime. Jailing youth for it is an act of cowardice. Students. Youth. Journalists. The INDIA bloc. Different banners, one cause. All protests are one: citizens demanding their constitutional rights.”
Asserting that Jantar Mantar belonged to the people of the country, Gandhi further said, “Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India. We will reclaim it.”
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP of "authoritarianism" over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and restrictions on protests at Jantar Mantar, alleging that those questioning the government were being jailed and peaceful demonstrators were facing police action.
He alleged that young protesters were being jailed, police were using force against demonstrators, and women were facing mistreatment, while accusing the authorities of allowing groups affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to act with impunity.
"Those who question power go to jail; youth get beaten with batons, forced detention. Brutality from police against our daughters, Open impunity for RSS thugs," he said.
Kharge added that people would not bow before what he described as the "oppressive policies of Modi-Shah" and said the BJP would be held accountable.
"The nation is raising its voice, and will hold the BJP accountable for every single thing," he said.
Taking to social media platform X, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convener Arvind Kejriwal termed the police action "absolutely ridiculous."
"Is waving our own flag in our own country a crime? This is absolutely ridiculous," the former Delhi Chief Minister wrote.
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also condemned the arrest calling it an "attempt to intimidate and silence an entire generation" and urging people to unite to protect the country's democracy.
In a post on X, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief said that generations had fought for democratic rights and stressed the need to continue the struggle. "We, and many generations before us, have fought strongly for our democratic rights. We must continue to do so," Banerjee said.
Condemning the arrest, she said, "I strongly condemn the arrest of Ashutosh and Saurav of the CJP. These moments are about us all, pledging and standing up to fight unitedly to protect our great democracy. This is an attempt to intimidate and silence an entire generation. This is unacceptable.
Echoing the outrage, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President MK Stalin warned that jailing protesters would only trigger wider public pushback, while offering legal backing to the arrested youth.
"How many protesters can this government detain? How many young voices can the BJP silence? The more young people they jail, the more ordinary citizens, with no political affiliation, will take to the streets and show them the true power of the people!" Stalin said on X.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bhardwaj also criticised the action against the CJP activists in a post on X, saying, "Saurabh Das & Ashutosh Ranka sent to 5-day judicial custody for waving Tiranga at Jantar Mantar. This is DICTATORSHIP."
Communist Party of India (CPI) MP P Sandosh Kumar said police action against Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders would intensify the ongoing campaign demanding the removal or resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, asserting that arrests, detention and FIRs could not suppress the movement.
Kumar said the arrests, detentions and registration of FIRs would strengthen the campaign against the Chief Election Commissioner, adding that political parties and civil society groups were raising their voices over the issue.
Speaking to ANI, he said, “The ongoing protests demanding the removal or resignation of Mr Gyanesh Kumar cannot be suppressed by police actions. The demand is genuine, and this has become the demand of the entire nation. INDIA bloc parties are agitating on one side. Civil society groups, pressure groups like CJP, are also fighting for justice. So arrest and detention and then remands, registering an FIR cannot hamper this movement. That will inspire the movement, and that will intensify our campaign against Mr Gyanesh Kumar. “
Meanwhile, Dipke added that the group's agitation against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar shared the same cause as the INDIA bloc's protests, while clarifying that CJP would continue to function as an independent pressure group.
Asked whether CJP would join the INDIA bloc's agitation, Dipke said the two movements were united in their opposition to what he alleged were electoral irregularities involving Gyanesh Kumar, but ruled out the possibility of CJP merging with or becoming part of a political party.
"Look, it’s nothing like that; all the protests are fighting for the same cause. We all share a single cause: we are all fighting against the way Gyanesh Kumar is rigging the elections and aiding Narendra Modi in retaining power," he said.
"Cockroach Janata Party is an independent pressure group, and it will always remain an independent pressure group. However, that does not mean we are opposed to the INDIA bloc; the INDIA bloc's movement and our movement share the same cause," he added.
Dipke also called upon people to gather at Central Park in Connaught Place on October 16 to hoist the Tricolour, alleging that activists Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were jailed for hoisting the national flag.
In a post on X, Dipke wrote, "Lehra do Tiranga," and appealed to patriots and people who love the Tricolour to assemble at the park at 5 pm on October 16 and hoist the national flag.
“As you all know, Saurabh and Aashu have been jailed simply for hoisting the Tricolour. So, I appeal to all patriots—to everyone who loves the Tricolour—to gather at Central Park, Connaught Place, on October 16th at 5 PM with the flag; we will hoist it there and demonstrate that waving the Tricolour is not a crime,” he said.
Dipke also urged people who could not travel to Delhi to organise a ‘Tiranga March’ in their respective cities in the evening.
Calling the Tricolour a matter of national pride, he said, “Let these people—these autocrats—know that our Tricolour is our pride and hoisting it is not a crime.”Dipke further said he was not worried about the possibility of being jailed after making the appeal, reiterating that he would hoist the national flag.
“I might be jailed after this, but I am not worried about that. The Tricolour is my pride, and I will certainly hoist it,” Dipke said. (ANI)
(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)