New Delhi. Taking legal action in connection with the recent protests organized at Jantar Mantar in the national capital, the administration has sent two key functionaries of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, to Tihar Jail in judicial custody for five days. The police force had caught both of them from the protest site on Tuesday, after which they were presented before the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM). The court gave this decision on the basis of alleged violation of the conditions of bail bond fixed earlier, while the third leader named in the case, Ajinkya Shinde, was released after submitting a fresh bail bond.
Police action and defense arguments
During the proceedings, CJP’s legal representative Abhisht Hele strongly opposed this action of the police. He argued before the court that the authorities had taken this step only on the basis of unfounded apprehension of a possible crime. The lawmaker also clarified that the leaders had not given any call to the public to assemble nor had they broken the bail restrictions, hence there was no truth in the claims presented by the police.
Incident at Jantar Mantar
Despite being declared a restricted area, workers and senior officials of the organization broke the security cordon and entered the premises. The leaders present there hoisted the national flag and raised slogans in support of their demands, immediately after which the security forces deployed there took them into their custody. This entire incident has come to light at a time when many political parties are attacking the government and the electoral system regarding the voter list amendment process.
Political reactions and targeting the government
After the arrest, CJP’s founding chief Abhijit Dipke termed the action on social media as a violation of democratic rights. He made a scathing attack by sharing pictures of leaders with the tricolor and said that sending them to jail for hoisting the flag peacefully shows a dictatorial attitude. On the other hand, another leader Ajinkya Shinde alleged that the central government is trying to suppress the voice of the opposition by misusing power, although such steps are not going to break their morale.
The main reason for the ongoing dispute
The main reason for the protests is related to the revision drive of voter lists, in which opposition groups allege that the names of a large number of legal citizens have been missing from the list. The protesters are demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner and transparency in the entire process, while on the other hand the election authority has rejected all claims of bias and has provided an opportunity to the left out citizens to re-register.
