Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Friday criticised the Centre over the cancellation of trains to Delhi ahead of the party's planned protest, saying the government should shut down the entire country if it was afraid of young people.
"Shut down the entire country if you are scared of the youth," Dipke told reporters at the Mumbai airport after returning from Bengaluru, a day before the CJP's proposed demonstration at Jantar Mantar on Saturday.
Dipke said the BJP-led Centre was afraid of Gen Z and challenged the government to arrest him. He also maintained that CJP volunteers would proceed with their plan to protest in the national capital despite restrictions imposed by the authorities.
CJP leader Saurav Das, meanwhile, compared the situation to the Emergency, alleging that party volunteers were being detained in BJP-ruled states and some had been placed under house arrest.
"Let's not be under any illusion. Emergency has been imposed in the country and Delhi has turned into a fortress," Das said.
The CJP has called for a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The remarks came after the Railway Board cancelled select Mail and Express trains scheduled to arrive at New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations between 4 am and 2 pm on October 10. The Railways cited anticipated traffic congestion around the two stations as the reason for the cancellations.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police have urged the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to shut 57 metro stations to restrict the movement of young people expected to travel to the capital for the demonstration.
The Delhi Police have also denied permission for the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar. Dipke, however, argued that the venue was a designated protest site and questioned the need for government permission to hold a demonstration there.
The planned protest comes amid a wider political dispute over the SIR exercise, with opposition parties alleging irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls and questioning the Election Commission's functioning.
(With inputs from PTI)