Delhi Police detained CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and student leader Neha Bora before a Tiranga march in Connaught Place. Opposition leaders called it a crackdown, while the BJP alleged anarchy.
Founding member of CJP Abhijeet Dipke was arrested by Delhi Police ahead of the “Lehra Do Tiranga” protest at Connaught Place on Friday, the latest episode in the protests that have been continuing since weeks to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Another arrested person is student leader Neha Bora, who is President of AISA.
Earlier in the day, more than 20 police personnel visited Dipke's home and served a notice under Section 163 of the BNS, saying prohibitory orders were in force around Connaught Place and that the New Delhi Municipal Council had not permitted the march. Police told him that waving the national flag is not illegal, but holding an unpermitted march is. Dipke was detained before he could reach the venue, and videos showed him holding a flag and saying he had broken no law. PTI reported that he was taken to Jafarpur Kalan police station, while AISA said Bora was being held alone at an Anti-Narcotic Task Force office in Manglapuri. The CJP alleges that Dipke was moved to an undisclosed location and denied access to lawyers. It was his second detention in a week. The march was called after CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were sent to five days of judicial custody for a brief flag-waving protest at Jantar Mantar on October 13, a day after the site was denotified as a protest venue.
Central Park was cordoned off, but protesters with flags still gathered around the Inner Circle as the evening wore on. The Guardian put the crowd at about 2,000, NDTV described it as hundreds, and Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra said only a negligible number of youths turned up. Police figures also differ. The Hindu cited a Delhi Police official putting about 10,000 personnel at Connaught Place, while DW reported more than 6,000 across the capital. Police said around 100 people were detained from locations including Barakhamba Road and Mandi House, with DW citing officials at about 150, and said no one was detained from the Inner Circle itself. The Hindu reported that detentions in Connaught Place began after 7.30 pm. Student groups, MPs John Brittas and A.A. Rahim, and an Aam Aadmi Party march were among those who took part in or around the area.
Mamata Banerjee called the detentions an undeclared Emergency, and DMK chief M.K. Stalin demanded to know where the two were being held. Arvind Kejriwal described the action as dictatorship, and the Congress said it stood with all those arrested. The BJP's Sambit Patra alleged the protests aim at a coup, and spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi accused the protesters of acting on the signals of foreign masters. Police said the Flag Code could be violated and that there was no permission for the protests. The Guardian also reported that actor Imran Khan, who holds a US passport, was told to leave India by the end of the month after being detained at a protest last weekend, an order he is contesting in court. The Election Commission and the BJP deny allegations that the electoral roll revision led to the unfair deletion of about 130 million names.
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