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 nationwide.
“Haven’t signed any bond that says we won’t protest. We will hit the streets again,” clarified Abhijeet Dipke, who is the founder of CJP, amidst the recent claims of releasing the leaders after agreeing to ‘not breach peace’ for a year.
Haven’t signed any bond that says we won’t protest. We will hit the streets again.
CJP's Saurav Das alleged that the Modi government has created an "emergency-like situation" and turned the state against its own citizens. The authorities could have invited a delegation for talks instead of restricting protesters seeking to demonstrate at a designated site, he said.
Das said the police had illegally detained them without any formal notice and alleged that their phones were seized and were not allowed to contact a lawyer.
Referring to the condition imposed on their release, Das said, "They have said there should be no breach of peace for one year. The breach of peace has been caused by Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Gyanesh Kumar."
"The protests are on... Protests will happen not just in Delhi but the whole country," Das said.
"This protest will not stop till Gyanesh resigns," CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka said.
Das said the situation resembled an Emergency under a dictatorial regime and alleged that the government was also targeting journalists covering the protests.
He also slammed Delhi Police personnel for entering Gurudwara Bangla Sahib wearing shoes and without covering their heads and forcibly removing protesters. He appealed to the Sikh community to stand with the protesters.
SFI 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 said at a press conference.
Ghosh alleged that right-wing groups had been allowed to assault CJP protesters and raised the alleged assault of a minor girl and a boy, saying such incidents could not be tolerated.
Four men have been arrested for allegedly assaulting students and pushing and hitting women on Delhi's DDU Marg on Saturday. The arrests came a day after a purported video of the incident went viral on social media, showing them assaulting young students and physically manhandling women.
Ranka, meanwhile, said the developments over the past 72 hours had reminded people of the Emergency, alleging that trains were cancelled and protesters were harassed to prevent them from reaching Delhi.
"Even in 1975, trains were not shut," Ranka said, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of turning the agitation against the Election Commission into a fight against themselves.
He also alleged that he, Das and Abhijeet Dipke had been "kidnapped" from an aircraft.
Ranka said Dipke's grandmother had died while he was in detention and accused the authorities of displaying insensitivity when he was informed about the death. She said Dipke had left for his ancestral village after his release but asserted that the agitation would continue.
CJP legal team head Ratna Singh alleged that police personnel had threatened 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.
The CJP has been protesting against alleged irregularities in voter rolls and demanding Kumar's resignation. Its leaders have accused the authorities of using preventive detentions and restrictions to prevent people from joining the agitation.
(With agency inputs from PTI)