Union Govt Goes All In To Thwart CJP Protest Planned On Saturday
Over 7,000 protesters, including four former chief ministers
New Delhi:In an unprecedented clampdown, the Union government virtually went all in to thwart the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) protest planned for Jantar Mantar on Saturday. Over 7,000 protesters, including four former chief ministers — Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar —members of youth and students' organisations, besides CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, and several independent journalists were detained.
Later in the evening, the Delhi police released all detainees except CJP leaders Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das. While the Delhi Metro reopened all the stations and Internet restrictions were removed, the police said that the security arrangements and traffic restrictions will be in place for Sunday as well.
The CJP vowed to continue protests against alleged electoral roll irregularities until Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resigned, announcing another demonstration at Jantar Mantar at 10 am on Sunday, even as police warned of possible restrictions across New Delhi and Central Delhi.
“The government must have thought we will return home after the detentions today. This fear of Modi, Shah shows we have won half the fight,” said Ajinkya Shinde, the CJP's national organisation in-charge, who was leading the protest as key members of the outfit remained under detention. Addressing a press conference after Saturday's police action, Shinde said the outfit would not retreat despite the detentions.
Urging people to join the demonstration in large numbers, Shinde called on them to continue protesting even if stopped by the police. “Come to Jantar Mantar in large numbers, and protest wherever Delhi Police stops you,” he said.
On Monday, the Opposition will again take to the streets demanding the sacking of the CEC.
Nearly 35,000 paramilitary personnel, including those from the Border Security Force, along with the Delhi police contingents, were deployed across Delhi-NCR to prevent protesters from joining the demonstration. Reacting to the mass detentions, the United Nations Human Rights Council said, "We are concerned by reports of mass detentions in India of demonstrators before and during the large-scale demonstrations in Delhi. We call on the authorities to ensure that the right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and fulfilled." There were also reports of "saffron goons" attacking the protesters.
Jantar Mantar was turned into an fortress, ringed with barricades, loudspeakers blaring warnings and thousands of armed security personnel maintaining an intimidating vigil. Several trains were cancelled and 45 Metro metro stations were shut with the Internet suspended in central Delhi.
The day began with a dramatic intervention at the IGI airport, where police detained Dipke, along with Das and Ranka, inside their aircraft soon after it landed in the national capital. In a video released by the party, Dipke could be heard telling the police personnel who entered the aircraft to detain the CJP leaders, “We are here to be arrested, come and arrest us.”
Accusing the authorities of treating the leaders like criminals, Dipke described the government action as “dictatorship”. He claimed that "even former PM Indira Gandhi had not resorted to such measures”. Mr Rathee was picked up from his Gurugram residence.
The crackdown acquired a wider political dimension as leaders from several Opposition parties attempted to reach the protest site. Several detained leaders claimed that they were driven around in police vehicles for hours. AISA leader Neha Bora, CPI (ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, social activist Yogendra Yadav, activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan and others were detained from the INA area as they tried to march towards the protest site. Vijayan, Sarkar and other Left leaders including M.A. Baby and Brinda Karat faced police action as they attempted to leave Kerala Bhavan and other locations to join the protest march. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk dubbed the clampdown in Delhi an "undeclared emergency".
The AAP chief was forcefully detained outside his Lodhi Estate residence while ensuing his march to Jantar Mantar with party colleagues and supporters. Soon after being released late in the evening, Mr Kejriwal took out a road show and exhorted people with his “Dilli Chalo” slogan.
Banerjee, accompanied by TMC leaders including MP Derek O’Brien, staged a sit-in on South Avenue after police prevented them from proceeding towards the protest site. Wearing a band-aid over her mouth, she termed the situation as having gone “beyond an Emergency” and becoming a “Super Emergency”. Soon after being released, the TMC supremo said she almost felt kidnapped and that the situation had surpassed the Emergency era. She has decided to stay in the city and join the INDIA bloc's planned protest against the SIR on Monday.
With the designated venue out of reach, parts of Connaught Place, the INA market and the area around Safdarjung Tomb briefly became makeshift sit-in sites, as protesters regrouped and raised slogans before being subsequently rounded up. Some protesters hid in public washrooms, took shelter overnight in a gurdwara and slipped in and out of its gates as police closed in, turning the crackdown during the protest into an elaborate game of hide-and-seek.
From Connaught Place and Gurdwara Bangla Sahib to INA, Gole Market and Minto Bridge, small groups of protesters repeatedly assembled, raised slogans and attempted to regroup, only to be chased or detained. Some sought refuge inside a gurdwara or hid in public washrooms to evade the security cordon. The planned gathering at Jantar Mantar thus spilt into streets and intersections across the capital, as protesters struggled to find one another amid restrictions on movement and rapidly changing police deployments.
The outer circle of Connaught Place, the area near Hanuman Mandir, Sansad Marg, Raisina Road, Imtiaz Khan Road, H.K.S. Surjeet Bhawan, the stretch around the Safdarjung Airport flyover and the vicinity of the Shivaji Stadium Metro station were among the locations where protesters gathered or attempted to mobilise. Several people were detained near Regal Cinema in Connaught Place, while others were sent back or chased away as they tried to regroup.
Later, the AISA announced a change in its destination to Dilli Haat after several protesters were detained in and around Jantar Mantar. Bora, marched towards the alternative location and urged others to join her. "Delhi Haat becomes Jantar Mantar today! See you there!" she wrote on X.
On the AAP's assertion that the protesters were dragged out of the gurudwaras, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Harmeet Singh Kalka said, “The Aam Aadmi Party has resorted to dirty politics over the protest by defaming the gurudwaras. The gurdwara is open to all, but some protestors tried to forcibly enter the gurdwara hall and stage a sit-in.”
Elsewhere, protesters allegedly stone-pelted security personnel near Akashwani Bhawan after toppling barricades. At least two dozen policemen were also injured in several areas during the protest. Protestors claimed that some "Right-wing fringe elements” attacked them. A couple of places also witnessed skirmishes with the security forces
