‘Poora desh Jantar Mantar banega’: Abhijeet Dipke criticizes Delhi Police for checking out protest site. Today’s news
Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Monday criticized the Delhi Police’s decision to de-register Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site, warning that the move would not stop the demonstrations.
“Ab poor desh Jantar Mantar banega,” Dipke said in a post on X.
“They have removed Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site. Yes, it is no longer a protest site because a cowardly dictator has turned it into a war zone. Ab poora desh Jantar Mantar banega! (sic),” Dipke wrote.
The reaction came after a Delhi Police circular issued on Monday announced that Jantar Mantar, located in Lutyens’ Delhi, would no longer be a designated venue for protests and demonstrations.
The police have also identified three alternative locations in the capital for holding such rallies.
What are the 3 new marked protest sites in Delhi?
According to the circular, the Ministry of Home Affairs has set up a committee to explore alternative places where citizens can exercise their right to organize protests and demonstrations.
Based on the commission’s recommendation, Jantar Mantar was de-notified as a designated place of protest.
The three alternative sites are:
The circular added that detailed and revised standard operating procedures (SOPs) for organizing protests and demonstrations at the three locations would be issued separately.
Why was Jantar Mantar in the limelight?
Jantar Mantar has been the focus of youth-led protests since June, with demonstrations organized by the Cockroach Janta Party founded by Dipke. The protests centered on alleged examination irregularities and culminated in the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The venue also witnessed renewed mobilization over allegations of electoral irregularities involving Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and opposition claims of “vote chori” (vote theft) in connection with the Special Intensive Review (SIR) exercise.
The latest protests gained momentum after an investigative report by The Indian Express raised questions about the Election Commission’s handling of decisions related to the SIR exercise.
The removal of notices follows mass detentions over protest calls
The Delhi Police’s decision comes after a weekend of mass detentions. Police described the detention as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order amid protest calls by several groups, mainly the Janta Cockroach Party, against Kumar.
The demonstrations followed an Indian Express investigation which reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had registered at least 14 objections to decisions and orders regarding the SIR exercise in the past 10 months.
According to the report, the objections concerned decisions that both commissioners said were made without their knowledge or advice.
