CJP Calls For Nationwide Stir As Delhi Police Crackdown Continues

New Delhi:The agitation demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar intensified on Sunday, with over 200 protesters reportedly detained and several people injured as Delhi Police continued their crackdown for the second consecutive day, despite Supreme Court directions against illegal detentions and harassment of journalists.

Angered by the alleged police excesses, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) announced plans to expand its agitation nationwide, declaring that “Jantar Mantar 2.0 is on.”

“We are on the streets, we will stay on the streets. We will abide by the Constitution,” Students’ Federation of India (SFI) leader Aishe Ghosh said while announcing the next phase of the agitation at a press conference.

With Jantar Mantar remaining out of bounds, protesters shifted their focus to Connaught Place, where streets and bylanes witnessed demonstrations, barricading, confrontations and detentions. Unlike Saturday's scattered flash protests, demonstrators gathered in larger numbers in the area on Sunday.

Raising slogans demanding Kumar's resignation, protesters attempted to march towards Jantar Mantar but were stopped by security personnel and bundled into police buses. Protesters alleged that police used excessive force and that members of right-wing groups joined in assaulting demonstrators.

Among those detained were CPM MP John Brittas, All India Students' Association (AISA) president Neha Bora, students, activists and journalists. Brittas was subsequently taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital after allegedly being assaulted during his detention. Brittas said he has written to the President, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and the Chief Justice of India seeking urgent intervention and fixing accountability for the police personnel, and action on the question of parliamentary privilege.

Delhi Police registered 20 FIRs in connection with the protests over two days, including cases involving alleged assaults on police personnel. Heavy security arrangements remained in place across central Delhi.

Meanwhile, CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, who were released from preventive detention on Sunday morning, vowed to continue their campaign against the CEC and take it nationwide.

They appealed to political parties to unite against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, arguing that concerns over voting rights extended beyond party affiliations.

The Congress has already announced a nationwide agitation for Monday, while Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi announced a march to the Supreme Court.

The three CJP leaders were released after being produced before an executive magistrate, subject to a condition that they maintain peace for one year. Dipke subsequently left for Nagpur to attend the last rites of his grandmother, who died on Saturday.

Reacting to the conditions imposed on their release, Das said, “They have said there should be no breach of peace for a year. The breach of peace has been caused by (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, (home minister) Amit Shah and Gyanesh Kumar.”

Ranka compared the developments of the past 72 hours to the Emergency. “Even in 1975, trains were not shut,” he said, accusing the Prime Minister and home minister of turning a protest against the Election Commission into a confrontation with the Opposition.

YouTuber Dhruv Rathee alleged that around 20 plainclothes personnel entered his residence on Saturday morning and took him to different police stations, denying him access to a telephone and legal assistance for nearly 23 hours.

At a press conference, Das accused the government of creating an “Emergency-like situation” through train cancellations, restrictions on demonstrations and mass detentions. He said the government could have invited a delegation for talks instead of preventing protesters from gathering at a designated protest site.

Several incidents of alleged police brutality were reported during Sunday's demonstrations. AISA president Neha Bora was seen clinging to a barricade as security personnel dragged her away.

The SFI alleged that male police personnel assaulted women protesters, including Ghosh. It also claimed that Father Biju Xavier, vicar of Sacred Heart Church, was detained while recording the alleged police action.

Brittas was physically lifted by police personnel during his detention and reportedly collapsed on the steps of a police bus. He was later taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, where CPM general secretary M.A. Baby and RJD MP Manoj Jha visited him.

In a post on X, the CPM alleged that Brittas had been “brutally attacked” and left by the roadside in an injured and distressed condition.

“Delhi Police has crossed all limits,” the party said.

Brittas also accused the police of using excessive force. “Modi and Shah will pay a heavy price for this. The Delhi Police have become mad dogs,” he wrote on X.