Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 9 (ANI): Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) activist Abhijeet Dipke on Friday reiterated that the organisation would hold a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on October 10, despite not receiving permission from Delhi Police. Dipke asserted that the protest would go ahead regardless of whether police permission was granted and said activists were prepared to face arrest.
Questioning the measures taken ahead of the protest, Dipke said, "What is this fear? Why are you this scared? You are scared of the youth in the country. You shut down trains, you shut down metro, what should one do?"
He also questioned the inconvenience caused to passengers, alleging that restrictions on public transport and roads would themselves cause hardship to ordinary people.
"Is Delhi a property of Narendra Modi or Amit Shah? Is this their ancestral property? Is this their paternal property? On one hand, you say that due to the protest, people are facing inconvenience, and on the other hand, you shut down all the metro, you shut down all the railways, you block all the roads. Now, won't there be inconvenience for people?" he said.
Dipke said CJP activists were prepared to face detention or arrest over the proposed demonstration.
"How many people will they detain? Arrest me, detain me! Saurabh is ready, Ashutosh is ready. Arrest me, detain me!" he said.
Questioning the need for police permission, he referred to Article 19 of the Constitution and said Jantar Mantar was a designated protest site.
"Did Gyanesh Kumar take permission? Before deleting 13 crore votes, did Gyanesh Kumar take permission? The Supreme Court didn't even give approval for the Form 6 modification. So, when Gyanesh Kumar, without telling anyone, without asking anyone, deletes 13 crore votes, then to protest against him, the constitutional right we have according to Article 19, what is the need for permission?" he said.
Dipke also questioned the Delhi Police's statement that applications for protests at Jantar Mantar must be submitted at least 10 days in advance, linking the restrictions to the proposed demonstration.
"The government is very serious. I think Narendra Modi and Amit Shah should keep checking their blood pressure. The kind of fear this government is showing," he said.
Delhi Police has denied permission for the proposed Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10 citing short notice, past non-compliance with directions and concerns related to public safety, law and order and traffic regulation.
Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police Nupur Prasad said an application was received in the New Delhi district on October 7 from Saurabh Das, co-convener of CJP, informing the police about the proposed protest.
"We have received an application from Saurav Das, Co-Convener of Cockroach Janta Party. The application is regarding an intimation for a protest on 10th October at Jantar Mantar. The protest was regarding the accountability of the CEC. This intimation was considered, and it was found that the intimation was given in a very short span of time, whereas as per the prescribed guideline, the intimation has to be received 10 days prior to the protest that is planned. Further, it is also important to mention that on an earlier occasion, when the Cockroach Janta Party was given permission to hold a protest there, they did not follow the lawful directions and did not follow their own undertakings given at that point in time. Therefore, because of not following the legal directions, their own undertaking, and the prevalent law and order situation, and to maintain public safety, law and order, and traffic regulation, this time the permission is rejected; it is not approved," the Jt CP said.
"It is important to mention that in the New Delhi area, Section 163 of the BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita) is in operation, under which, to maintain public order and safety, a reasonable preventive restriction is in place. It is further important to mention that if anybody violates the provisions of Section 163 of the BNSS, then proper legal action will be taken against them," she added. (ANI)
"We will agitate": CJP's Abhijeet Dipke says Jantar Mantar protest will go ahead despite no police permission
