Rahul Gandhi Backs Jailed CJP Leaders
Opposition leaders question arrests after Jantar Mantar protest; Gandhi vows to reclaim the site for public demonstrations.
- Rahul Gandhi backs CJP leaders detained after the Jantar Mantar protest.
- Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das remanded to five days of judicial custody.
- CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke thanks Gandhi for his support.
- Kejriwal, Abhishek Banerjee and other opposition leaders criticise the arrests.
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 14th Oct: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday condemned the arrest of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das following a protest at Jantar Mantar, calling their detention an attack on peaceful dissent and promising to fight the restrictions on demonstrations at the site.
“Waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar in a peaceful protest is not a crime. Jailing youth for it is an act of cowardice,” Gandhi said in a post on X. He added that students, young people, journalists, civil society groups and the INDIA bloc were raising a common demand for constitutional rights.
“Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India. We will reclaim it,” he stated, signalling opposition to the Centre’s decision to denotify the location as a protest site.
CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were remanded to five days of judicial custody on Wednesday after being arrested during a demonstration the previous morning. Police alleged that 14 people entered Jantar Mantar by climbing a gate and barricades, waved the national flag and raised slogans.
The arrests followed an earlier detention of CJP members who had travelled to Delhi for an October 10 protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. They were subsequently released on bail after furnishing bonds promising to maintain public peace for a year. Police alleged that the latest demonstration violated those conditions.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke thanked Gandhi for his support and questioned why waving the national flag should be considered a breach of peace. Gandhi’s statement comes amid questions over the Congress’s earlier distance from the CJP leadership and his efforts to present the protests by different groups as part of a wider campaign for constitutional rights.
Other opposition leaders also criticised the arrests. Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal called the jailing of CJP members “ridiculous”, while Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee questioned the action against people waving the Tricolour. DMK chief MK Stalin and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray also expressed support for the detained members.
The episode has intensified the debate over public protest spaces, bail conditions and the handling of demonstrations in the national capital. The police allegations and the opposition’s criticism remain central to the unfolding dispute.
