Hours after being released from detention, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders on Sunday vowed to continue their agitation against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
NEW DELHI — Hours after being released from detention, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders on Sunday vowed to continue their agitation against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, saying the protest would now expand across the country.
CJP's Saurav Das alleged that the Modi government has created an "emergency-like situation" in Delhi and turned the State against its own citizens.
Das said police had illegally detained them without any formal notice and alleged that their phones were seized and they were not allowed to contact a lawyer. He also expressed apprehension that the devices may have been interfered with.
Referring to the condition 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."
"The protests are on.... Protests will happen not just in Delhi but across the country," he said.
The CJP leader accused the government of trying to protect the CEC.
"We want to ask Modi and Shah, why are you trying to save Gyanesh Kumar?" he said.
Referring to the 2024 Lok Sabha poll results in Varanasi, Das wondered whether Kumar had prior information about the outcome and whether that explains the government's alleged efforts to protect him.
In 2024, Modi was trailing behind Congress's Ajay Rai from Varanasi at a point during the counting of votes, before winning the seat,
"Modi was trailing and then he won. Does Gyanesh know how that happened?" Das asked.
"The youngsters of the country have awakened. Protests will happen, not just in Delhi but across the country, till we get accountability," he said.
Das appealed to political parties to unite on the issue of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.
"Irrespective of ideology, all political parties should unite on the issue of SIR. If the right to vote is taken away, it is not good for any party," he said.
He also slammed Delhi Police personnel for entering Gurdwara Bangla Sahib wearing shoes and without covering their heads and forcibly removing protesters from there. He appealed to the Sikh community to stand with the protesters.
Students' Federation of India (SFI) leader Aishe Ghosh also said the agitation would continue despite the restrictions.
"Jantar Mantar 2.0 is on. We are on the streets, we will stay on the streets. We will abide by the Constitution," she told a press conference here.
CJP leader Ashutosh Ranka said developments over the last 72 hours have reminded people of the Emergency and mentioned railway stations being shut and trains being cancelled.
"Even in 1975, trains were not shut," he said, accusing Modi and Shah of turning the agitation against the Election Commission (EC) into a fight against themselves.
Ranka also alleged that he, Das and CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke were "kidnapped" from the aircraft on their arrival at the Delhi airport.
He said Dipke's grandmother died while he was in detention and accused authorities of displaying insensitivity when he was informed about the death. Ranka alleged that officials surrounded Dipke with cameras and microphones while informing him of the bereavement, despite his request to speak to his cousin as his parents are heart patients and he did not want them to become anxious.
Ranka said Dipke did not want his personal loss to be made public and expressed condolences to his family. Dipke left for his ancestral village in Maharashtra after his release from detention to attend his grandmother's last rites, he added.
The Delhi Police on Sunday released a video to refute the CJP's claim that Dipke was not informed about his grandmother's death while in custody on October 10.
Police said the news was conveyed to Dipke with due sensitivity and assistance offered for his travel to his hometown for the funeral, but he "declined" the offer.
Ranka said "this protest will not stop till Gyanesh resigns. Our volunteers marched to Jantar Mantar today as well".
CJP's legal team head Ratna Singh accused police personnel of threatening the families of activists and asked them to stop their children from joining the protests. She also alleged that Intelligence Bureau personnel had tracked her movements and questioned the basis for restrictions on activists.
"I am a citizen. I have the right to go anywhere. How can you keep me in wrongful detention?" she asked.
All India Students' Federation (AISF) representative Viraaj Devang alleged that student activists trying to reach Delhi were stopped and detained, and claimed that police have prepared a list of activists.
The CJP also raised concerns over the reported detention of YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, who said in a video after his release that he was picked up from his residence by plainclothes personnel without a legal warrant.
The CJP further alleged that protesters had faced physical violence, including custodial abuse of its coordinator from Mumbai. It questioned the National Human Rights Commission's (NHRC) response to the reported incidents and called for the allegations to be examined. It said accounts of intimidation targeting volunteers and their families, restrictions on travel and obstruction of access to public spaces point to efforts to prevent a peaceful assembly.
The CJP has called for protests against alleged irregularities in the electoral roll and demanded Kumar's resignation.