Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders will approach Delhi Police on Monday to seek a date for holding a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar, a day after three of its top leaders were detained at Delhi airport ahead of a planned demonstration.
CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka said he, fellow co-convenor Saurav Das, legal head Ratna Singh and other leaders would visit Parliament Street Police Station at 10 am to seek permission for the protest.
“Delhi Police can give us a date for Jantar Mantar in 24 hours, else the CJP will give another protest call,” Ranka said in a post on X on Sunday.
The CJP had planned to protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
However, Delhi Police detained CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, Ranka and Das after their flight from Mumbai landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Saturday.
The leaders alleged that they were forcibly removed from the aircraft and detained without being shown written grounds for their custody. Their detention came amid heightened security and restrictions across the capital ahead of the proposed demonstration.
The three were released on Sunday after being produced before an executive magistrate. They subsequently alleged that their phones had been seized and they had been denied access to legal counsel during detention.
Ranka described the developments as reminiscent of the Emergency, alleging that trains were cancelled and protesters harassed to prevent them from reaching Delhi.
The CJP leaders vowed to continue their agitation, accusing the authorities of preventing them from protesting against the Election Commission and alleged electoral irregularities.
(With inputs from PTI)