Jantar Mantar protests have come under renewed scrutiny after former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai questioned the Centre and Delhi Police over the handling of Cockroach Janata Party demonstrators, including the reported detention of protesters, the use of pellet guns and the functioning of a Special Executive Magistrate.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Annamalai said he may disagree with the tactics of the CJP and believed some of its members were misguided, but insisted that people had the right to oppose or argue on issues they considered important. His comments followed a press meeting in which he questioned Delhi Police methods during the protests.
Annamalai, who said he resigned from the BJP’s primary membership on June 5, 2026, compared the present situation with the police action during the 2011 anti-corruption campaign in Delhi. He recalled a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then Gujarat chief minister, criticising the crackdown at Ramlila Maidan and said he considered that position correct.
The former BJP state chief alleged that Jantar Mantar was de-notified as a protest site under a standing order of the Ministry of Home Affairs after the CJP submitted a letter seeking permission to hold a demonstration. He asked how such a decision had been taken and sought clarity on the administrative basis for restricting protests at the site.
He also questioned the role of an assistant commissioner of police serving as a Special Executive Magistrate in preventive bond proceedings involving protesters. Annamalai said the arrangement raised concerns because Delhi Police was also the complainant in the case. He further asked why the magistrate allegedly arrived late for an October 19 bail hearing involving people arrested at Jantar Mantar on October 13 and later recused himself, citing a threat to his life.
Among the other questions raised by Annamalai were the rejection of eight sureties and the questioning of a person who appeared to provide surety. He also asked whether any action had been taken over what he described as the use of pellet guns and alleged violations of standard operating procedures by Delhi Police during the protests.
Annamalai linked the dispute to a wider concern about how governments characterise criticism. He said protests and statements against the Centre were too often described as anti-national or funded by foreign forces, adding that the Ministry of Home Affairs controlled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act and that other agencies were responsible for tracking possible links with foreign enemies.
He also alleged that a BJP legislator, Ashok Goel, had led the burning of a cockroach effigy during Dussehra celebrations, arguing that actions by the ruling party were giving the CJP publicity. Annamalai said he wanted the Centre to answer the questions raised over the protests rather than respond with whataboutism. The Indian Express report did not include a response from the Centre or Delhi Police to the allegations in his post.
