New Delhi:
Do not take out the ‘tiranga yatra’, the Delhi Police arrived at Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke’s New Delhi home to deliver the message.
The CJP has called on the general public and its supporters to gather at the Central Park on Friday to wave the national flag as part of its protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of voter-list manipulation during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Another trigger for the march is the arrest of Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, CJP members, who have been sent to five-day judicial custody after they entered Jantar Mantar waving the national flag on October 13, a day after the historic site was denotified as a protest site.
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) announced that the Central Park will remain closed to the public on Friday and Saturday for “administrative reasons”, while Delhi Police said it could facilitate a select group of people to wave the national flag and sing the national anthem at a suitable spot.
“Kya aarop laga diya hai aapne mere upar (What kind of accusation have you leveled against me?) Dipke, who has a small national flag draped across his shoulders and seated on an egg-yolk coloured sofa, is heard asking the cop in front of him, showed a video.
A bunch of papers can be seen on the glass top table as Dipke is examining its contents and reading out bits, confronting the cops.
One of the claims in the notice served to him, as read out by the 31-year-old Dipke, was that “you (Dipke) kept instigating the general public on social media which is unlawful”.
“Ye kya mazak laga rakha hai aap logon ne. Kya notice hai, ye notice hota hai? Jo maan main aaye woh likhe ja rahe ho aap log (What kind of a joke is this that you people are playing? What is this ‘notice’? Is this what you call a notice? You’re just writing down whatever you feel like),” Dipke – dressed in a white T-shirt, which had Gandhi printed on it, and blue denims – asks the cop seated across him.
“Phansi pe chadha do na. Kya mazak hai ye (Go ahead, hang me.What kind of a joke is this?)” Dipke is heard telling the cop, challenging him to show even one video where he is instigating violence.
“Video aap ek nahi dikha payenge (You won’t be able to show even one video),” Dipke challenged the cops even as he was being recorded by other cops in his own home.
Dipke was also informed that waving the tiranga was not against the law, but staging an unpermitted march and gathering a crowd would be a violation of restrictions and the police would take legal action. He was also informed about the restrictions of treating the national flag with due respect in accordance with the Flag Code.
Delhi Police said a prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was already in force in Connaught Place, a major shopping hub in the city center that is on the way to Jantar Mantar, and surrounding areas.
On Thursday, Dipke, at a press conference, said the campaign drew inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi and Dr BR Ambedkar and maintained that the party’s objective was to seek accountability through peaceful means.
“We believe in peace and non-violence. We are believers in Gandhi and non-violence. We are only asking for accountability,” he had said.
Ahead of the yatra, the New Delhi Traders Association asked the protesters not to clog Connaught Place for their protests and asked them to hold demonstrations elsewhere.
“Dear all political parties and protesters, we respect your right to protest and raise your voice, but CP is not your stage, it’s our workplace,” the traders’ association said.
The traders’ body said protests over the past three weeks have affected their sales, disrupted the livelihoods of shopkeepers, waiters, drivers, vendors and other staff, and caused road closures and traffic disruptions.
They said the demonstrations made it difficult for people to go to work and earn, while keeping tourists and families away from public space.
Dipke’s Torrid Week Continues
On Saturday morning, Delhi cops were seen entering the aircraft as Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka’s plane landed in Delhi from Bombay for a protest against Gyanesh Kumar. All three were detained.
“Police are not allowing to deboard the flight. They are causing inconvenience to the other passengers. You can see where the nation is heading. They are here to arrest us literally from the flight. This is something that not even Indira Gandhi had done. This is dictatorship as Delhi Police has entered in the flight to arrest us. We are here to be arrested, come and arrest us,” Dipke, in a video shared by the CJP, can be heard telling the police.
In a statement, the party condemned the alleged detentions, claiming they were part of a pre-planned move to prevent its leaders from reaching the site of their proposed protest.
While in detention, Dipke received the news that his grandmother has died.
The three leader, who were detained at separate locations, were released on the condition that they would not “breach peace” for a year, CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh said.
Dipke then returned to his family in Maharashtra.
On Tuesday, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were again taken into custody and sent to five days’ judicial custody for trespassing at Jantar Mantar, which had been stripped of its status as a protest site the day before.
