CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Abhijeet Dipke and Saurav Das claim they could be arrested ahead of the October 10 mobilisation over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls — but say arrests will not stop their campaign.
Ranka alleged that the leaders could face action under the NSA or similar provisions, while Dipke said threats of UAPA, NSA or prolonged imprisonment would not silence the organisation. He directly challenged Union Home Minister Amit Shah, asking: “Kitno ko arrest karoge Amit Shah?”
The warnings come amid escalating protests over SIR and demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Around 110 people were detained during a protest in Delhi, while the Indian Youth Congress has also stepped up demonstrations.
At the same time, an Indian Express report highlighted objections raised by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi regarding electoral rolls, voter registration and ECI technology systems. The Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that these represented institutional dissent and maintained that SIR scheduling decisions were unanimous.
Will the threat of arrests intensify the SIR protests — or will the government’s crackdown bring them to a halt?