AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday criticised the police action against Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, asking whether waving the national flag in one's own country was a crime.
Das and Ranka were sent to five-day judicial custody and taken to Tihar Jail on Wednesday for allegedly violating their peace bonds and trespassing at Jantar Mantar, which was denotified as a protest site on Sunday, police said.
Their associate Ajinkya Shinde was bound down to maintain peace and good behaviour for six months and released on a personal bond and a surety of Rs 5,000.
Reacting to the arrests in a post on X, Kejriwal said, "Is waving our own flag in our own country a crime? This is absolutely ridiculous."
Das, Ranka and Shinde, along with other CJP members, entered Jantar Mantar on Tuesday, allegedly defying prohibitory orders. They unfurled the national flag and raised slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, whose resignation the group has been demanding over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
AAP Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj also criticised the arrests, calling them "shameful" and saying his party would continue to support the demands of young protesters.
Speaking to news agency PTI, Bharadwaj said political parties had a responsibility to stand with the protesters. He cited the AAP's support for farmers and women wrestlers who had staged protests, saying the party had provided facilities, including mobile toilets and Wi-Fi, to protesting farmers.
He said the AAP believed the demands of young people, particularly Gen Z, were justified.
"It is the duty of every political party to stand with them and support their demands. Otherwise, history will never forgive political parties. We are not taking a break. This is no time to take a break," Bharadwaj said.
He described the arrest of CJP members for raising slogans and displaying the national flag as "shameful". Bharadwaj also alleged that while some groups were allowed to engage in violence, young protesters were being sent to jail, and claimed the movement would grow further.
The AAP leader questioned the judiciary's response to alleged police excesses during protests, claiming that students, journalists and lawyers had been assaulted on camera since October 2.
"The government being silent is understandable because police are acting on its behalf. However, if the judiciary also remains silent and does not take suo motu cognisance, and people are forced to seek the registration of an FIR, it is a matter of concern for the country," he said.
Bharadwaj also compared the situation to the Emergency imposed in 1975, saying concerns over electoral irregularities, protests by students and workers, and economic distress reminded him of that period.
According to Delhi Police, the CJP leaders and 11 other group members reached Jantar Mantar by allegedly trespassing on private premises. They were detained for allegedly obstructing police personnel from discharging their duties. Two FIRs were registered at the Connaught Place and Parliament Street police stations.
Police said the protesters were bound down in the cases and subsequently arrested under preventive provisions, citing alleged repeated attempts to disturb public peace and instigate others through social media.
