Cockroach Janata Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday strongly criticised the detention of party leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ajinkya Shinde near Jantar Mantar by Delhi Police.
The three were detained after they and other protesters allegedly climbed over barricades and entered the site, which police had recently removed from the list of designated protest venues in the national capital. Dipke said the group had gone to Jantar Mantar that morning and hoisted the national flag.
Speaking to reporters, Dipke questioned whether raising the tricolour had become a legal violation. “Has hoisting the national flag become a violation of the law? When did hoisting the tricolor become a violation? Whoever thinks that hoisting the tricolor at Jantar Mantar is a violation is a traitor,” he said. He added that if those detained for hoisting the flag were charged, strict action should be taken against such a move, asking how someone could be arrested for the act.
Dipke stated that the protest would continue and urged Delhi Police to ensure the detained activists could consult their lawyers. He recalled being held for 24 hours without access to a lawyer in a previous instance and said such treatment should not be repeated. He described the police action as the “greatest example of a dictatorial mentality” and accused the authorities of treating public spaces as private property.
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“The dictatorship doesn’t want anyone to go to Jantar Mantar and hoist the tricolor. They think the whole country is their personal property. It is not like that; Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of this country, the 140 crore Indians,” Dipke said. He declared that the group would continue to hoist the tricolour there until Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resigns.
In a social media post, Dipke said the activists had been detained after entering the site with the national flag and added that resistance could not be denotified. Ranka also posted a message stating “Hands Off Jantar Mantar.”
The detentions came a day after Delhi Police removed Jantar Mantar from the list of designated protest venues. The force named three alternative sites Ramlila Ground in Central Delhi, Burari Ground in North Delhi and CBD Ground in East Delhi following recommendations of a committee set up by the Union home ministry. The move is linked to ongoing protests in the capital demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
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