CJP renews protest call as Abhijeet Dipke, Dhruv Rathee remain detained; Delhi Police cite ‘broken promises’ amid crackdown

Delhi Police reportedly released all the detainees from the detention centers except CJP leaders. This comes amid a widespread crackdown in national capital.

Delhi on Saturday witnessed a major crackdown on a planned protest and the detention of thousands, including four former chief ministers, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijit Dipke, and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee. The action came amid CJP's call for protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, who faces allegations of carrying out irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

While the police released all the protesters after day-long detention, CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das, and Youtuber Dhruv Rathee remained in custody. The Cockroach Janta Party has given a fresh call for protest, urging people to begin march to Jantar Mantar at 10 am on Sunday.

Why Delhi Police stalled protests

The Delhi Police shared a video on X, explaining the reason for denying permission to hold the protest at Jantar Mantar. In the caption, the police wrote, "Broken promises, shattered trust."

In the video, Delhi Police highlighted that the CJP failed to abide by its signed undertaking while protesting in June-July to demand the resignation of then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination irregularities.

Also Read | BJP leader's daughter detained near Bangla Sahib amid CJP protest in Delhi: ‘For sitting in a park’

Key developments from protests against CEC

From the closure of 45 metro stations in the national capital to the detention of actor Imran Khan in Mumbai, Saturday saw escalating developments as protests erupted in various parts of the country.

4 ex-CMs detained: Several opposition leaders, including former chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal (AAP), Mamata Banerjee (TMC), Pinarayi Vijayan (CPI-M) and Manik Sarkar (CPI-M), were detained from multiple locations across Delhi as they attempted to join the protest.

Abhijeet Dipke and others detained: Dipke and two CJP leaders, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were detained by Delhi Police from inside an aircraft as soon as their flight landed.

Dhruv Rathee detained from Gurugram: YouTuber Rathee, who lives abroad and had come to join the CJP protest, was detained by police from his residence in Gurugram.

CJP's Ajinkya Shinde calls fresh protest: Following the detentions, CJP's Ajinkya Shinde has renewed the call for demonstrations on Sunday, October 11.

"But we're not backing down! We will march to Jantar Mantar again tomorrow and stay there until all our demands are met," the CJP's post on X read.

Tushar Gandhi, actor Imran Khan detained: Police detained actor Imran Khan, activist Tushar Gandhi and CPI (M) workers from various locations in Mumbai for protesting without permission, news agency PTI reported.

Sonam Wangchuk's warning: Activist Sonam Wangchuk, in a post shared on his X handle, wrote, "Yesterday when I posted a message appealing for unity & peace in today's protest I had never imagined that the biggest democracy in the world would be under an undeclared EMERGENCY."

"I was happy there were so many leaders to lead the movement, but I now learn that they have all been arrested. I hope those arrested will be released soon. I will be compelled to consider an Anshan Fast or Padyatra March if they are not released by tomorrow," he warned.

Also Read | Supreme Court to hear on Sunday pleas against violation of order on Delhi curbs, detention of Opposition leaders

BJP vs Opposition amid crackdown

Earlier on Saturday, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and termed him a "nalayak neta" and an "anarchist".

Addressing a press conference, Patra criticised the remarks made by Gandhi outside Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday.

"Yesterday a few politicians visited the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The statement of Rahul Gandhi after coming out of the Rashtrapati Bhavan was like that of a 'nalayak neta'... Never before was an attempt made to drag the President into a street protest. But a 'nalayak neta' attempted to do that. The anarchist Rahul Gandhi tried to pull the President of India to anarchism, which he is trying his best to conduct on the streets of India," the BJP leader said.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Gandhi, in a post on X, urged the youth to keep protesting.

"Youth of India, I am proud of you. Keep protesting. We are standing with you," he wrote.

Delhi metro services update

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), in an X post on Saturday night, informed, “Entry and exit gates of all Metro Stations of the Delhi Metro network are now open. The interchange facility at all the concerned Metro stations is also available.”