Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Wednesday called on citizens to gather with the national flag at Central Park in Delhi’s Connaught Place at 5 pm on Friday, October 16, after party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were remanded to five days of judicial custody for allegedly entering Jantar Mantar, which has been denotified as an authorised protest venue.
Alleging that the two leaders had been “jailed only for unfurling the tricolour”, Dipke urged supporters unable to reach Delhi to organise simultaneous ‘Tiranga Marches’ in their respective cities.
“We will show that waving a tiranga is not a crime,” Dipke said in a post on X. He also expressed apprehension that he could be jailed following the call.
The arrests have drawn criticism from opposition leaders, including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, DMK chief MK Stalin and former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Delhi Police, however, said the action followed alleged violations of peace bonds and concerns over public order.
The latest action stems from an incident on Tuesday, October 13, when Das, Ranka and their associate Ajinkya Shinde were among 14 CJP members who allegedly entered the Jantar Mantar premises after crossing security barricades.
The protesters raised slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his resignation over alleged irregularities in the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Police said the group entered the premises without authorisation and obstructed personnel from discharging their duties. Jantar Mantar had been denotified as an authorised protest site on Monday, October 12.
The CJP, however, said its members had “reclaimed” Jantar Mantar and their right to protest, maintaining that the national flag was central to their demonstration.
Das, Ranka and Shinde were produced before a Special Executive Magistrate on Wednesday morning. Proceedings were initiated under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
The magistrate remanded Das and Ranka to five days of judicial custody in Tihar Jail. Shinde was released on a personal bond of Rs 5,000 and bound down to maintain peace and good behaviour for six months.
Police said two FIRs had been registered in connection with the incident. One, at Connaught Place police station, includes provisions relating to house trespass, criminal conspiracy and disobedience of an order promulgated by a public servant. The second, at Parliament Street police station, includes provisions relating to obstructing public servants, assault or criminal force against public servants, and common intention.
Advocate Abhisht Hela, representing the CJP leaders, challenged the police account, arguing that the remand was based on apprehensions about possible future offences rather than established facts. He maintained that the leaders had not violated their peace bonds and questioned the inclusion of a separate complaint linked to Connaught Place in the proceedings.
CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh alleged that the leaders had been held at Parliament Street police station from the early hours of Wednesday without timely access to legal counsel.
The arrests have prompted criticism from several opposition leaders. Rahul Gandhi described the judicial custody of Das and Ranka as an “act of cowardice”.
“Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India. We will reclaim it,” he said.
Meanwhile, a joint march organised by the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) from Firozeshah Road towards Jantar Mantar was stopped by police on Wednesday.
Opposition parties have alleged that the SIR exercise could lead to the disenfranchisement of eligible voters. The Election Commission has denied political bias in the revision process.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta accused the CJP of acting as a political proxy for the Aam Aadmi Party and defended the SIR exercise as a lawful administrative process. Union Minister Chirag Paswan called for restraint, saying neither protesters nor the administration should escalate tensions.
Dipke’s proposed gathering at Central Park is scheduled for 5 pm on Friday. As of Wednesday evening, permission for the proposed demonstration had not been confirmed.
