New Delhi: For the second day in a row, the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) has announced a protest in Delhi. In this regard, CJP national organizational in-charge Ajinkya Shinde has called on everyone to come to Jantar Mantar.
CJP has announced another protest today, demanding that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign. This morning, CJP has decided to once again march toward Jantar Mantar with its supporters.
CJP has appointed the party’s national organizational in-charge Ajinkya Shinde to lead the protest at Jantar Mantar. Announcing that the protest will continue, Shinde urged everyone to come to Jantar Mantar.
Last July, the CJP’s protest at Jantar Mantar against Dharmendra Pradhan was successful. In that protest, Pradhan, who was then the Union Education Minister, had resigned from his post.
Having learned a lesson from the CJP through that protest, the police made extremely tight security arrangements in the capital on Saturday. As a result, the protesters were unable even to enter New Delhi.
About 35,000 central paramilitary personnel and 15,000 Delhi Police officers turned Delhi into a fortress and took control. As a result, reaching Jantar Mantar became impossible.
Due to tight security, CJP supporters were unable to hold a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. However, CJP members stood where they were blocked and raised slogans to continue the protest.
This protest by CJP was supported by four former chief ministers: Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan, and Manik Sarkar. They too joined CJP in the protest arena.
However, the Delhi police arrested and detained these former chief ministers as well. These arrests not only disrupted CJP’s protest plans but also shook the morale of its supporters.
After some clashes and minor arguments with the police, CJPs were also taken into custody. This time, many prominent figures from the country, including those from Bollywood, supported the CJP and joined the protest.
The impact of this was felt in other states across the country as well, where protests were held too. In particular, the protest in Mumbai drew national attention, second only to Delhi.
Mumbai protest
For taking to the streets and protesting without permission in support of the agitation, Mahatma Gandhi’s great-grandson Tushar Gandhi, actor Imran Khan, and others were arrested. Along with them, around 400 people, including CPM party workers, were detained at various places in Mumbai.
Protests were held at Mumbai’s August Kranti Maidan, Hutatma Chowk, and other places. Many activists of the 'Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi' organization, led by Prakash Ambedkar, took part in the protest at Hutatma Chowk.
Members of the ’Hum Bharat Ke Log’ organization led by Tushar Gandhi and activists of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), including
Hundreds gathered without permission at August Kranti Maidan.
First, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained from his Gurugram residence; later, key CJP leaders Abhijit Thipke, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Ranga were detained by the police straight from the flight. By evening, reports said that around 4,000 people, including them, had been detained.
Arrested CJP leaders
Since permission for the protest was denied, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and CJP chief Ratna Singh were detained from their Gurugram residence. Around 9:45 a.m. on Saturday, CJP coordinators Abhijit Dipke, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Ranga were taken into preventive custody.
The three had arrived at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport from Mumbai. They were immediately detained by a police team that entered the aircraft parked on the runway and arrested them.
By evening, all the other activists had been released, but Thipke, Saurav, and Ranga were not released. No one knows where they are being held in Delhi.
These three are expected to be produced before a Delhi court judge today. To prevent a protest at Jantar Mantar, as happened yesterday, Section 163 has been imposed in Jantar Mantar and the surrounding areas, and heavy security has been deployed.
