Assam Police Detain CJP's Ashutosh Ranka, Supporters Ahead of SIR Meet
Ranka, who reached Guwahati a day ago, was scheduled to meet some CJP supporters during the day
Guwahati: Assam Police on Sunday detained Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka along with several volunteers and team members in Guwahati ahead of a planned regional volunteers’ meet-up.
Mr Ranka, who had arrived in the state capital on Saturday, was taken into custody along with associates including Ankit Bhardwaj and Prem Aakash, as well as local volunteers.
Earlier police barricaded access roads to the venue near Chowdhury Tila (opposite the Assam Secretariat in Dispur) after the original venue at Assam Shree Parshuram Seva Sadan in Athgaon was cancelled amid alleged pressure from the state administration.
In the wake of the proposed “volunteer meet-up” police have made a heavy deployment of security personnel who intercepted youths moving towards the venue in small groups carrying banners.
Mr Ranka alleged that Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was “scared” that they would expose the condition of government schools in Assam under its “School Thik Karo” campaign, as well as issues related to land, forests and water rights around Kaziranga National Park, alleged corporate handovers, and “man-made” floods.
He also referred to past delimitation of constituencies and claimed the action showed fear of exposure. He also alleged that after the delimitation there have been instances of voters ofa village casting votes in two different constituencies.
“Himanta Biswa Sarma is scared that if we show the reality of schools in Assam, the country will come to know about their condition,” Mr Ranka said.
The CJP described the gathering as a peaceful volunteers’ meet-up focused on education reforms, outreach to families affected by the special revision (SIR/SR) of electoral rolls, and grassroots work in Assam and the Northeast. The group condemned the action as undemocratic, demanded the immediate and unconditional release of those detained, and said its campaigns would continue. CJP’s legal affairs head Ratna Singh criticised the restrictions on peaceful assembly and alleged seizure of phones and denial of basic legal rights.
Congress leader and former Leader of Opposition in the Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia strongly condemned the detentions. In a post, he called it a “direct attack on our constitutional rights” and an example of “fascist behavior” and “police raj.”
Meanwhile, social media was flooded with condemnation of police action against CJP leaders in the state.