A Delhi Police order removing Jantar Mantar Road from the list of designated protest sites has triggered a warning of nationwide demonstrations from Cockroach Janata Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, who said his party would continue its agitation demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Dipke told reporters in Santuk Pimpri village in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district that protest sites would emerge across the country if demonstrations were barred at Jantar Mantar. He said he would begin an agitation from wherever he was detained if police stopped him while travelling to Delhi. He is expected to reach the national capital on Wednesday to join the party’s protest, according to the report.
The Delhi Police Commissioner’s standing order, issued on October 11, de-notified Jantar Mantar Road as a designated protest site. Ramlila Maidan in central Delhi, Burari Ground in north Delhi and CBD Ground in east Delhi were designated as the three new venues for large demonstrations.
The development followed the reported detention of CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka after they reached Jantar Mantar on Tuesday morning despite heavy barricading and a strong security presence. Dipke said other members, including Shinde, were also detained. He said the party’s legal team would approach the court regarding the detentions after the members unfurled the national flag at the site.
In remarks to the media, Dipke alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were attempting to suppress democratic dissent. He said the issue was not only the location of a protest but the ability of people to demonstrate. These remarks were allegations by the CJP founder and were not accompanied in the report by a response from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Union Home Ministry or Delhi Police.
Dipke also said that his team members were carrying the national flag when they were detained. In a post on X, he wrote that CJP members had entered Jantar Mantar early in the morning before being picked up by Delhi Police. A video shared by him showed party members jumping over a gate and raising slogans, while police personnel moved towards them, according to the report.
The police order changes the administrative geography of large demonstrations in Delhi by shifting them from a long-established central venue to three alternative grounds across the city. The report does not specify the capacity, transport arrangements, permission process or operational restrictions at the newly designated venues.
Dipke later travelled to a farm in neighbouring Kundkar Pimpri village, where he said he had spoken to his legal team about the detentions. He reiterated that the agitation would continue until the Chief Election Commissioner resigned. The CJP’s proposed legal action and its planned arrival in Delhi are the next stated developments.
