The political confrontation over the planned protest at Jantar Mantar intensified on Saturday as Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained by Delhi Police after arriving in the national capital. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was also detained ahead of the demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The CJP condemned the detention of its leaders, alleging that the police had intercepted them in a pre-planned move to prevent them from reaching the protest site. The party described the action as a violation of their freedom of movement and demanded their immediate and unconditional release.
‘I Have Come Here to Be Arrested’: Abhijeet Dipke
Dipke reportedly challenged the police as he was detained, saying, “I have come here to be arrested; arrest me.”
The detentions came amid heightened security in Delhi ahead of the planned demonstration. The CJP has called for action against the Chief Election Commissioner, alleging that the SIR exercise threatens the voting rights of eligible citizens.
Reacting to the developments, the party said the detentions would not weaken its campaign. In a post on X, it declared: “Gyanesh Kumar will go. This government will go. Then the repair of democracy will begin.”
The party also reacted sharply to Rathee’s detention, accusing the government of being afraid of young people who question its actions.
“Dhruv Rathee has been detained. The Dictator is TERRIFIED of young people who question its wrongdoings and refuse to stay silent!” the CJP said in a post on X.
These allegations reflect the party’s position; the police’s stated grounds for the individual detentions were not included in the information available for this report.
BJP Accuses Opposition of Trying to Destabilise the Country
As the CJP criticised the police action, BJP national president Nitin Nabin accused the opposition of attempting to create instability through the planned mobilisation.
“Today, an attempt is being made to create a highly dangerous and serious situation in the country,” Nabin said, alleging that efforts were underway to destabilise India.
He targeted the Congress-led INDIA bloc and the CJP, describing them as “two anarchic groups” led by Rahul Gandhi and associates of Arvind Kejriwal, respectively.
“I want to state clearly to both these groups that the people of India see right through your motives,” he said.
Nabin further alleged that the protest was driven by political interests and claimed that the groups were acting “at the behest of foreign forces”. He maintained that their efforts to create instability would not succeed.
The BJP leader’s remarks framed the planned demonstration as a political attempt to undermine stability, while the CJP has presented it as a peaceful mobilisation demanding accountability from the Election Commission.
SIR Dispute Fuels Political Confrontation
The proposed Jantar Mantar protest centres on allegations concerning the SIR process and the potential exclusion of eligible voters from electoral rolls. The CJP has demanded Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, making the Election Commission’s handling of the revision exercise a focal point of the confrontation.
The detentions have added to tensions surrounding the demonstration, with the CJP alleging that the authorities are attempting to prevent dissent, while the BJP has accused the organisers and opposition groups of pursuing destabilising political agendas.
With security restrictions in place and political leaders trading accusations, the dispute has widened beyond the electoral-roll revision itself to include questions about peaceful assembly, police action and the limits of political protest.
