New Delhi [India], October 14 (ANI): Communist Party of India (CPI) MP P Sandosh Kumar on Wednesday said police action against Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders would intensify the ongoing campaign demanding the removal or resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, asserting that arrests, detention and FIRs could not suppress the movement.
Kumar said the arrests, detentions and registration of FIRs would strengthen the campaign against the Chief Election Commissioner, adding that political parties and civil society groups were raising their voices over the issue.
Speaking to ANI, he said, “The ongoing protests demanding the removal of or resignation of Mr Gyanesh Kumar cannot be suppressed by police actions. The demand is genuine, and this has become the demand of the entire nation. India bloc parties are agitating on one side. Civil society groups, pressure groups like CJP, are also fighting for justice. So arrest and detention and then remands, registering an FIR cannot hamper this movement. That will inspire the movement, and that will intensify our campaign against Mr Gyanesh Kumar. “
Kumar also questioned the decision to de-notify Jantar Mantar as a protest site, arguing that the national capital needed a designated place where citizens could express dissent without disrupting public life.
“The point is that reclaiming Jantar Mantar is all the more important because in the national capital, if you want your voice of dissent, where is the place available for that? Jantar Mantar used to be the place and even before Amit Shah becoming the Home Minister of this country, Jantar Mantar was the proper protest site. So in the national capital, you should have a proper protest site. And when the BJP becomes an opposition party in the near future, if they want to register some protest, where will they do it? Jantar Mantar is the best place to conduct all these kinds of protests. It will not hamper public life. Of course, Parliament is not far away, so what? Did any protests attack Parliament? No. These are all genuine protests, and I hope the government can understand this. And whatever may be the decision, this denotification of Jantar Mandir as a protest site is not at all acceptable. We will continue our movements,” he said.
Meanwhile, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj compared the current political situation to the Emergency imposed in 1975, citing allegations of electoral irregularities, protests by young people and the arrest of leaders questioning the government.
Speaking to ANI, Bhardwaj said, “I feel like the wheel of time has turned full circle and today we are back to the same time of 1975. There was political instability under Indira Gandhi. There were allegations of electoral rigging. There were protests by the youth and students. The economic situation was not good. It is exactly the same today. There are major questions being raised about the government’s electoral system. The youth and students are out on the streets. The country’s economic situation and global situation are worrying, and the government has. The arrests of leaders questioning the government have begun.”
He further said, “If you look at the last few days, at least half a dozen cases have been filed against me in the last month. The police can arrest me on any given day. And I feel like false cases are being framed against all the big leaders so that whenever they are needed, they can be arrested overnight and thrown in Tihar jail. This is a very worrying time. I feel that the youth of the country, the students of the country, Gen Z, have the right to hold a peaceful protest. No government, court, or police can take away that right. “
Bharadwaj also questioned the role of the Delhi Police and the government in deciding the conditions under which protests against them could be held, calling such restrictions unconstitutional.
“Will the Delhi Police and the government decide where, when, who, how many days, and until what time protests will happen against them? Is this some kind of All India Radio program? Or is this a rock concert? The police will give permission for that, saying, okay, we’ll do it from this time to this time, this many people will come. Will the loudspeaker play until this time? Hey, there’s a protest against you. There’s a protest against your entire government, a protest against this whole system. So how will the system decide how the protest will happen, where it will happen, when it will happen, and why it will happen? This is completely unconstitutional,“ he added.
The remarks came after Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) activists Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were sent to five days of judicial custody following their detention during a protest near Jantar Mantar, party member Ajinkya Shinde said on Wednesday, asserting that the activists would not be intimidated by the action.
Earlier, CJP legal head Ratna Singh had alleged that the activists were denied access to their lawyers for several hours and were not initially informed of the grounds for their detention. She had also said that the activists were likely to be produced before the relevant magistrate.
The developments come amid the CJP and Opposition parties’ ongoing agitation against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. (ANI)
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