Rahul Gandhi slams Centre over arrest of CJP leaders who hoisted tricolour at Jantar Mantar

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has launched a sharp attack on the BJP and the Modi government. He said hoisting the tricolour at Jantar Mantar is not a crime and that jailing young people for it is cowardice.

The statement came after Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Ranka were sent to five days' judicial custody on Wednesday. Both face a case for hoisting the tricolour and shouting slogans at the Jantar Mantar grounds.

In a post on social media platform X, Gandhi said hoisting the tricolour during a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar is not a crime and that jailing young people for it is cowardice. He wrote that students, young people, journalists and the INDIA bloc carry different flags but share one aim. The tone of all the protests is the same, he said: countrymen are demanding their constitutional rights. He also said Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India and that "we will take it back".

According to Gandhi, the protests of various citizens' groups, students and the INDIA bloc are in fact part of one campaign, even if their flags differ.

Over the past 10 to 12 days, the opposition INDIA bloc and the Cockroach Janta Party held protests in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. These protests have increased the pressure on the Centre considerably. Two days ago, the Centre announced that Jantar Mantar would no longer be a designated protest site. Despite this, CJP leaders said they would protest at Jantar Mantar itself, and on Tuesday they entered the area using guerrilla tactics, hoisted the tricolour and shouted slogans.

Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ajinkya Shinde were taken into preventive custody on Tuesday on the charge of entering the Jantar Mantar area without permission. On Wednesday morning they were produced before a Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) at Mandir Marg police station.

During the hearing, the magistrate held Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das guilty of entering Jantar Mantar in violation of a peace bond and sent them to Tihar Jail in five days' judicial custody. Ajinkya Shinde was released on a bond of Rs 5,000. Jantar Mantar is no longer recognised as a protest site.

Abhijit Dipke said he wanted to tell Narendra Modi that if an Emergency is to be imposed in the country, it should be announced officially. He said CJP leaders were being jailed for five days like cowards merely for hoisting the tricolour at Jantar Mantar. According to him, even this did not happen during the Emergency, and he asked since when hoisting the tricolour has been considered a sin. He dared the government to announce an Emergency officially if it had the courage.

Gandhi's open support for the CJP leaders in custody has started talk of a shift in the Congress's stand. The Congress had been criticised for keeping its distance from the CJP during the agitation, so Gandhi's support is seen as significant.

On Tuesday morning, 14 people including CJP leaders climbed over the gate and barricades to enter the Jantar Mantar area. They then hoisted the tricolour and shouted slogans. Police detained them and later arrested them.

Reports say they have been charged with entering the Jantar Mantar area without permission and violating bail conditions. The leaders had reached Delhi to lead a protest planned for October 10, when they were detained on arrival from the flight itself. They had accepted the bail conditions only a day earlier.