‘Jantar Mantar belongs to Indian people’: Rahul Gandhi vows to ‘reclaim’ protest site | Today’s news
Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday hit out at the Delhi Police and the central government after Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were sent to five-day judicial custody, saying Jantar Mantar will be returned.
In a post on X, Gandhi shared a screenshot of a PTI report about CJP leaders being sent to jail and wrote, “Waving the tricolor at Jantar Mantar during a peaceful protest is not a crime. Jailing youth for this is an act of cowardice. Students. Youth. Journalists. Bloc INDIA. Different banners, one thing: All their protests are one cause: All their protests are cowardly.” He added, “Jantar Mantar belongs to the Indian people. We will get it back.”
Why were the CJP leaders sent to judicial custody?
Das and Ranka, along with another CJP leader, Ajinkya Shinde, were detained by the Delhi Police on Tuesday after they tried to enter Jantar Mantar, which authorities had designated as a designated protest site. A case was subsequently registered.
According to reports, the three leaders tried to breach the cordon and enter Jantar Mantar. In a video shared by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, protesters including Ranka and Das were seen climbing over a locked gate to enter Jantar Mantar.
Carrying the national flag, the protesters also chanted slogans as they continued to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
Advocate Abhisht Hela, who is representing them, told LiveLaw that the Delhi Police alleged that Ranka and Das urged people to gather at Jantar Mantar “and thereby committed an offence”.
According to the Delhi Police, the accused also violated the peace bond they had earlier signed before the Special Executive Magistrate at the Delhi Cantt Police Station on October 11.
The action against the CJP leaders came amid heightened tension in the state capital following a series of protests by the CJP and other organizations against the CEC in recent days over allegations of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Rahul Gandhi supports NSUI, criticizes Modi, Shah
Gandhi on Wednesday warned that those responsible for the alleged assault on protesters seeking the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar in the capital would face consequences. Addressing a press conference alongside NSUI activists who claimed to have been beaten by the police during protests in Delhi, Gandhi said: “As I said in my press conference, this is India. Amit Shah ji, look at it carefully. There is no Hindu, no Muslim, no one from any particular caste; there is no woman, no man. There is one voice and you are against it. You are against it. Against this voice I suggest you: do not oppose this voice.”
He also urged protesters to preserve evidence of the alleged incidents. Addressing the Delhi Police, he said, “I have told the police personnel to all the students to keep the video and send us this evidence. When this whole matter is over, we will use all this evidence and ensure that whoever needs to be punished is punished, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gjanesh Kumar, Amit Shah and even the constable who raises his hand against our children.”
CJP founder hits out at PM Modi: Here’s what he said
On Wednesday, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a post on X, he said: “Show some courage @narendramodi. If you are so determined to crush dissent, have the courage to officially declare Emergency instead of hiding behind these cowardly tactics.”
He also questioned whether hoisting the national flag at Jantar Mantar was wrong.
