Key Takeaways
- Key leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) were detained by Delhi Police after entering Jantar Mantar.
- The protest site was sealed off by police barricades and a heavy security presence.
- CJP leaders accused the Election Commission of India of voter roll manipulation to benefit Prime Minister Modi’s party.
India’s youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) reported that key leaders were detained by Delhi Police after entering Jantar Mantar, an iconic protest site in New Delhi, on Tuesday.
The site, which has been sealed off by yellow metal barricades and a heavy police presence for several days, was taken off the list of designated official protest sites by the police on Monday.
CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke posted a video on social media showing protesters clambering over the barricades, running into the empty space, and waving the national flag before being chased and detained by police.
In a post on Instagram, CJP stated, 'CJP sneaks inside to reclaim Jantar Mantar,' and added that leaders Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka, and Ajinkya Shinde were among those detained.
Delhi Police announced three official protest sites on Monday as alternatives to Jantar Mantar, where protesters have gathered for decades, including CJP demonstrations that led to the education minister stepping down over an examination scandal in July.
Dipke, in his post, said, 'You cannot denotify the resistance,' tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi, in comments at a business conference in New Delhi on Tuesday, called India the 'mother of democracy' but did not directly address the protests.
The Election Commission of India, which oversees the voting process in the world’s most populous nation, has denied any wrongdoing in the manipulation of voter rolls.
Opposition parties and supporters of the movement have been defying a security clampdown to demand the resignation of the head of India’s election commission, accusing it of manipulating voter rolls to benefit Modi’s ruling party.
CJP sneaks inside to reclaim Jantar Mantar
Abhijeet Dipke, CJP leader
You cannot denotify the resistance
Abhijeet Dipke, CJP leader
