Key Takeaways
- Two leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) were remanded in custody for five days.
- They were detained for allegedly disturbing public peace and violating the law.
- The protest was against the chief election commissioner's alleged manipulation of voter rolls.
Two leaders of India’s youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, were remanded in custody for five days on Wednesday, following their alleged attempts to disturb public peace and violate the law, according to Delhi police.
The pair, aged 30 and 27 respectively, were taken into custody after they entered Jantar Mantar, a historic protest site in the heart of Delhi, where they waved the national flag and chanted slogans demanding the resignation of the chief election commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar.
Delhi police stated that their detention was also due to their alleged repeated attempts to instigate others through social media to engage in similar unlawful activities.
The CJP leaders were among about a dozen people who jumped barricades on Tuesday to enter the grounds of Jantar Mantar, a site previously designated for demonstrations but now barred by the police.
Rahul Gandhi, the parliamentary opposition leader from the Congress party, backed the men, saying waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar in a peaceful protest is not a crime and that jailing youth for it is an act of cowardice.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke praised the men, stating that they knew they could be thrown behind bars but went ahead to wave the national flag, saying, 'They’ve shown the entire country that the only way to stand up to a bully like Modi is to never bow down, no matter the consequences.'
The detention of the CJP leaders has sparked concerns among rights advocates and critics, who say that Modi’s government has eroded democratic freedoms during its more than a decade in power.
Human Rights Watch called on the Indian government to uphold the right of citizens to protest peacefully, stating, 'The Modi government should stop throwing young protesters in jail and instead engage with them to address concerns over the right to vote and fairness of elections.'
One of the protesters, Atira, said she was taken to a detention centre where she was beaten by police, describing the incident as 'unacceptable.'
Waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar in a peaceful protest is not a crime.
Rahul Gandhi, Parliamentary opposition leader from the Congress party
They’ve shown the entire country that the only way to stand up to a bully like Modi is to never bow down, no matter the consequences.
Abhijeet Dipke, CJP founder
