CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke detained at Delhi airport; over 1,700 protesters held ahead of Jantar Mantar rally
Delhi Police detained the Cockroach Janta Party founder and other office-bearers as they landed, hours before a protest against the SIR exercise.
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Tension has risen in the capital over the agitation against the SIR exercise. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had called a protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the cancellation of the SIR process. Before the protest began, Delhi Police detained the party's founder, Abhijeet Dipke, and other office-bearers as they got off the plane, it has been learnt.
The CJP protest is reportedly being backed by student organisations, Gen Z and workers of Opposition parties. For this reason, a large number of police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in Delhi.
Organisers Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were also said to have been detained at IGI Airport after the flight landed, along with Dipke. Claims have also been made that several people, including Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee and Dhruv Rathee, were detained. Tushar Gandhi was also detained by police in Mumbai, according to information received. Reports also say Delhi Police have detained more than 1,700 protesters in all.
Raj Thackeray has reacted angrily to Dipke's arrest. He wrote an angry post against Modi and Shah, calling it "the height of dictatorship". The post is now being widely discussed.
Anticipating detention by police, Dipke had recorded a video message on Friday night. The CJP released the video after he was taken into custody. In it, he appealed to protesters to stay united.
Dipke said the agitation would not stop even if he and the other office-bearers were in detention. He said the leadership of the Jantar Mantar protest had been handed to Ajinkya Shinde. He also appealed that the demand for Gyanesh Kumar's resignation be kept up at all costs.
Meanwhile, the Bombay Lawyers Association has expressed displeasure over the restrictions being placed on protests. The association registered its protest, describing the manner in which the government is stopping agitations as an "undeclared Emergency".
The action by the Central government and Delhi Police against the protesters is likely to escalate the matter further. Political circles are watching how the agitation will proceed.
