The Delhi Jantar Mantar protest planned by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) for October 10 will go ahead despite Delhi Police denying permission, activist Abhijeet Dipke said on Friday, while the police cited short notice, alleged non-compliance with earlier directions and concerns over public safety, law and order and traffic management.
Dipke said CJP members were prepared to face detention or arrest if they proceeded with the demonstration. He also criticised restrictions affecting public transport and roads, arguing that measures intended to prevent inconvenience could themselves disrupt ordinary commuters.
“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?” Dipke said, according to the report. He questioned whether restricting metro services, trains and roads would create the same inconvenience that authorities had cited as a reason for limiting the protest.
The proposed demonstration is intended to seek accountability from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Dipke said the protest concerned alleged changes relating to Form 6 and argued that Article 19 of the Constitution protected the activists’ right to demonstrate. His statements about changes to voter records and the Form 6 process were allegations made by him and were not independently established in the supplied report.
Delhi Police said the New Delhi district received an application on October 7 from Saurabh Das, the CJP co-convener, informing authorities about the proposed demonstration. Joint Commissioner of Police Nupur Prasad said applications for protests were required to be submitted at least 10 days before the event, making the notice too close to the planned date.
Prasad also alleged that CJP members had failed to comply with lawful directions and undertakings issued during an earlier protest for which permission had been granted. She said preventive restrictions were in force in the New Delhi area under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita to maintain public order and safety.
The police officer warned that legal action would be taken against anyone violating the restrictions. The immediate outcome of the proposed demonstration, including the extent of any traffic or public-transport controls and whether activists are detained, will depend on enforcement action around Jantar Mantar on October 10.
