'Turned Delhi into India-Pak border, for one Gyanesh Kumar?': CJP, AISA condemn police action

मूल अंग्रेजी लेख का निम्न अनुवाद AI द्वारा किया गया है। AI द्वारा अनूदित लेखों में त्रुटि हो सकती है। किसी भी शंका या स्पष्टीकरण के लिए मूल अंग्रेजी लेख देखें।

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the All India Students' Association (AISA) Thursday condemned the police action against protesters carrying the national flag at Jantar Mantar and called for a mass flag-hoisting programme at Connaught Place on October 16, as part of their ongoing movement against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

"You have even called unfurling the Tricolour a violation of law. For whom? For Gyanesh Kumar? What is Gyanesh Kumar giving Narendra Modi?" Dipke alleged.

"You have brought Delhi to a standstill, shut down the Railways, shut down the Metro and turned Delhi into a border, like the India-Pakistan border," he alleged. "You have called in all the forces to Delhi. Student organisations have been dragged, the Opposition has been dragged, and former Chief Ministers have been dragged through the streets. All this for one Gyanesh Kumar?" he said.

Questioning the CEC's role, Dipke asked why the Prime Minister was "providing him with such protection" and alleged that the Election Commission's actions could benefit the ruling party electorally.

'Unfurling Tricolour not a crime'

The group also condemned the arrest of its leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, who were sent to Tihar Jail after entering Jantar Mantar carrying the national flag on Tuesday.

Dipke said that unfurling the Tricolour was not a crime and criticised the police response to protesters. "If the government wants to detain this many citizens, Opposition leaders and students, let it declare an Emergency outright," he said.

The CJP reiterated its demands for the immediate resignation of Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise, the release of Ranka, Das and other detained protesters, an end to police action against demonstrators, and the restoration of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site.

'Youth will lead'

Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan said, "From here I am saying, youth will lead us in the change of regime. This is a fight for regime change."

AISA president Neha Bora said the movement over SIR and voting rights was not the struggle of any one political party or organisation, but a fight involving ordinary citizens across the country. She said the protests would continue despite attempts to intimidate demonstrators and recited lines from Ramdhari Singh Dinkar's poem Rashmirathi.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal criticised what he described as the weakening of constitutional institutions, warning that arbitrary revisions and large-scale deletions from electoral rolls could undermine the integrity of elections and the democratic process.

Actor-activist Prakash Raj alleged that Form 7, used to seek the deletion of names from electoral rolls, was being misused to target particular communities, especially Muslim voters. He also highlighted the concerns of affected voters in 23 districts of Karnataka who, he said, were unable to travel to Delhi to raise their grievances.

Sheikh Salauddin, president of the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union, said his name had been deleted from the electoral roll despite his active participation as a voter.

Bhushan also criticised the police response to the protests, referring to videos of alleged lathi-charges and arbitrary detentions. He questioned the decision to withdraw Jantar Mantar's status as a protest site, arguing that it restricted citizens' constitutional right to dissent.

The CJP and AISA have appealed to students, workers, farmers, traders, Opposition parties and members of the public to join the "Lehra Do Tiranga" programme at Central Park in Connaught Place on Friday.