CJP shares Plan B sans Dipke, Ranka, Das. It features a pre-recorded video
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) shared a pre-recorded video of founder Abhijeet Dipke, saying Ajinkya Shinde would lead its Jantar Mantar protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar if Dipke and two other leaders were arrested.
by Akshat Trivedi · India TodayIn Short
- Abhijeet Dipke said Ajinkya Shinde will lead protest at Jantar Mantar
- Dipke urged supporters to follow Shinde in their absence
- Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained on arrival in Delhi
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Saturday shared a pre-recorded video of founder Abhijeet Dipke, in which he said the organisation’s in-charge, Ajinkya Shinde, would lead its protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar if Dipke and two other leaders remained in detention.
In the video, Dipke anticipated his possible arrest and urged supporters to follow Shinde if they were watching the recording, indicating that he, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka had been arrested.
“If you are watching this video, it means that Ashutosh, Saurav and I have all been arrested,” Dipke said in the video.
He added that Shinde would lead the movement in their absence and asked supporters to follow him.
“After us, Ajinkya will lead this movement. So, all of you watching these videos, please follow Ajinkya Shinde. He will be carrying forward the Cockroach Janta Party after Ashutosh, me and Saurabh,” Dipke said.
Delhi Police detained Dipke, Das and Ranka from inside an aircraft shortly after it landed in the national capital.
The three leaders had arrived in Delhi from Mumbai for the proposed protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
In another video shared by the CJP, Dipke can be heard confronting police personnel who entered the aircraft and allegedly prevented the leaders from getting off the plane.
“Police are not allowing us to deboard the flight. They are causing inconvenience to the other passengers. You can see where the nation is heading. They are here to arrest us literally from the flight. This is something that not even Indira Gandhi had done. This is dictatorship, as Delhi Police has entered the flight to arrest us. We are here to be arrested. Come and arrest us,” Dipke said.
AJINKYA SHINDE'S APPEAL TO SUPPORTERS
Following the detention of the three leaders, CJP in-charge Ajinkya Shinde called on supporters to continue the protest, accusing the Narendra Modi-led government of attempting to prevent people from assembling in the national capital.
"As you know, this dictator government of Modi-Shah has detained three CJP leaders – Abhijit Dipke, Sourav Das and Ashutosh Rank – at the Delhi airport this morning. This dictator government is scared of the unity of this country," Shinde said in an Instagram video.
He claimed that the authorities were taking steps to prevent a repeat of an earlier gathering at Jantar Mantar, which he said had challenged the BJP leadership.
"Last time when this entire country came together and reached Jantar-Mantar, it shattered the arrogance of the Modi-Shah duo. This is why they have stopped all buses, metro trains and detained people from wherever possible so that it doesn’t happen again," he said.
Shinde described the detentions and alleged restrictions as evidence that the movement had made progress, adding that the party's demands concerned the voting rights of people who had allegedly been deprived of them.
"This fear of Modi-Shah proves that we have won half the battle and is the beginning of a new battle. All we were demanding was the voting rights of people who have been deprived of them. We were demanding the resignation of Gyanesh, who stole the votes. So, this dictator government imposed an emergency in Delhi," he said.
Appealing to supporters to continue towards the protest venue, Shinde urged them to treat any place where police stopped them as an alternative protest site.
"Through this video, I appeal to all the countrymen to head towards Jantar-Mantar and wherever the police stop you, that place should be your Jantar-Mantar. This fight will continue until Gyanesh Kumar resigns," he added.
NO PERMISSION FOR PROTEST
Before detaining the leaders, police personnel told them that they did not have permission to hold the protest at Jantar Mantar, according to the information shared by the organisation. Dipke said CJP leaders were being detained as if they were criminals.
In a statement, the CJP condemned the alleged detentions, claiming they were part of a pre-planned move to prevent its leaders from reaching the protest site. The organisation described the action as a violation of freedom of movement and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all three leaders.
The CJP had called the demonstration against the Chief Election Commissioner over allegations of voter-list manipulation during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and changes relating to Form 6, which is used for voter registration.
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