“Is there no place for peaceful protest in democracy?”: AAP's Sanjay Singh on detention during October 10 protest

New Delhi [India], October 11 (ANI): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders on Sunday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government over the detention of protesters in Delhi while people were protesting against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the authorities restricted peaceful protests and disrupted public transport.
Addressing a press conference, AAP leader Sanjay Singh claimed that more than 6,000 people were arrested in Delhi on Saturday.
“More than 6,000 people were arrested in Delhi yesterday. This means that if people had been allowed to protest freely, at least six lakh people would have come here. But they would have come with the same resolve as last time: no matter what the attack, we would not raise our hands. CJP had called for a peaceful protest. Is there no place for peaceful protest in a democracy when it is a right guaranteed by the Constitution? The government shut down all train and metro services. What about people who wanted to come to Delhi for their sick parents' treatment, for business, or for small jobs and daily-wage work? Everything was shut down,” he said.
Sanjay Singh also criticised the alleged treatment of AAP leaders during the protest, referring to Arvind Kejriwal and other party leaders.
“Arvind Kejriwal has been the Chief Minister of Delhi three times. Yesterday, he was dragged along the streets, arrested and put into a bus. Our leaders, including Saurabh Bharadwaj and Anurag Dhanda, have also been treated this way. It is as if we are some big mafia members or terrorists,” he said.
AAP leader Anurag Dhanda also criticised the police action, particularly the alleged treatment of senior lawyers and people who had taken shelter inside a gurdwara during the protest.
“Sanjay Singh, Gopal Rai and Saurabh Bharadwaj have explained in detail the historic black day that the BJP government brought to Delhi yesterday. I would like to add just one point. I have never witnessed anything like the way senior lawyers were dragged. You also have extensive experience in journalism. I cannot recall the police ever treating lawyers this way before. The way people who had taken shelter inside a gurdwara were dragged out and detained by the police was, in itself, an insult to the Sikh faith and the traditions of the gurdwara...” he said.
Around 1,000 protesters were detained across the national capital on Saturday while attempting to march towards Jantar Mantar for a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protest, Delhi Police sources said.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has announced that the INDIA bloc would take to the streets again on October 12, alleging that the Delhi Police and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers used violence against students and women during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
In a series of posts on X on Saturday, the Congress MP referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi using the name of “Mogambo”, the iconic antagonist played by Amrish Puri in the film Mr India, and alleged that the government was attempting to suppress the voices of the youth and students.
"Amit Shah’s Delhi Police has not only resorted to thuggery itself but is also giving a free hand and encouragement to the real goons of the RSS-BJP to perpetrate violence against women and the youth," he said.
Announcing the next round of protests, he said, "On Monday, October 12, the Congress, the entire INDIA bloc, and the youth of the country will once again take to the streets in large numbers. And this time, too, the voice will resonate across the nation—louder than ever before." (ANI)