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, a day before the CJP's proposed demonstration at Jantar Mantar on Saturday.
The party 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 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)