A small group from the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) has received permission from Delhi Police to hoist the national flag at Connaught Place at 5 pm on Friday, while Central Park has been closed for two days amid restrictions linked to the proposed demonstration.
CJP chief Abhijeet Dipke said the party’s peaceful protest would not be responsible for any business losses in Connaught Place. In a statement quoted by Live Hindustan, he attributed the disruption to what he described as government-ordered restrictions, including a citywide shutdown, suspension of internet services and limits on movement.
“Peaceful protests do not harm business. Business is affected because the government has decided to shut down the entire city, suspended internet services and restricted the movement of its own people,” Dipke said, according to the report. He also alleged that the city had been turned into a “war zone”.
The planned flag-hoisting comes against the backdrop of restrictions at established protest locations. The report said Jantar Mantar has been removed from the list of designated protest sites. Two CJP leaders, Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were recently detained after allegedly hoisting the national flag and raising slogans at Jantar Mantar.
Dipke said the party had held demonstrations in Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Nagpur, and maintained that they had remained peaceful. Referring to an earlier incident in Jaipur, he said he had been assaulted but had not retaliated because responding to violence with violence was against the party’s principles.
He also rejected the government’s alleged portrayal of the party as anarchic. “Demanding answers from the government is not anarchy. Protesting on the streets against injustice is not anarchy,” he said, according to the report. Dipke framed the issue as one involving constitutional rights and said the party was not seeking special treatment.
The immediate dispute places Connaught Place’s commercial and public-space functions alongside the administration of protest activity in one of Delhi’s busiest central districts. The area combines retail, offices, restaurants, transport access and public gathering spaces, meaning restrictions can affect both businesses and visitors. The report, however, does not provide figures for expected attendance, business losses, the duration of movement restrictions or the government’s detailed response to the allegations.
Delhi Police has permitted the small group to hoist the flag, while Central Park remains closed for two days. The scheduled 5 pm programme and the continuing restrictions at nearby public spaces are the next immediate developments in the matter.
