New Delhi: In their first interaction with the media soon after their release, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka accused the Narendra Modi-led Central government of curbing peaceful dissent and staging a war against its own citizens.
“Narendra Modi is the biggest coward of India, an embarrassment to India,” Ranka said at the press conference in New Delhi on Sunday, October 11, alleging that the Prime Minister was determined to protect Kumar “at all costs”.
On Delhi Police claims that Abhijit Dipke was informed about his grandmother’s death and was offered travel assistance, which the latter refused, Ranka said, “When Abhijeet was informed about her death, Delhi Police behaved in such an inhuman manner. Even when Dipke was informed about his grandmother’s death, Delhi Police personnel were standing there with cameras and microphones. They tried to turn even this incident into a spectacle… I feel ashamed.”
“We are not dreaded criminals; we are not going to Narendra Modi or Amit Shah’s house to protest. Protest at designated protest spot is not disturbing peace,” Ranka said.
Saurav Das said that independent reporters were detained for asking police personnel to display their name tags. “The whole country is watching this barbarity,” he said, adding, “This government has miscalculated the public response to the measures taken against protesting youth.”
The CJP leaders criticised the security arrangements in the national capital, claiming that 30,000-40,000 personnel had been deployed, including Border Security Force personnel brought in from border areas and forces from Naxal-affected regions.
“The state is at war with its own citizens. People seeking to raise their grievances were being silenced. Protests will happen, not just in Delhi but the whole country till we get accountability,” he added.
We were not detained, we were kidnapped
Ranka alleged that he, Das and Abhijeet Dipke had been “kidnapped” from an aircraft.
Das said the police had illegally detained them without any formal notice and alleged that their phones were seized and they were not allowed to contact a lawyer.
Referring to the condition imposed on their release, Das said, “They have said there should be no breach of peace for one year. The breach of peace has been caused by Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Gyanesh Kumar.”
Das said the situation resembled an Emergency under a dictatorial regime and alleged that the government was also targeting journalists covering the protests.
“This protest will not stop till Gyanesh resigns,” CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka said.
Delhi plunged into chaos
The national capital, which has been rocked by a series of street protests this month against Chief Election Commissioner Kumar and SIR, was bracing for another march on Monday by the INDIA bloc. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said he and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi have sought a meeting with the Chief Justice of India between 4 and 5 pm on Monday to seek his intervention on the issue of “vote chori”.
An apex court bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued a notice to the Centre while hearing a plea seeking contempt proceedings for alleged violation of the court’s direction to ensure that there is no “complete prohibition” on metro and train services in Delhi due to the CJP protest.
“Internet facilities shall remain undisturbed, as per law….When we are saying internet facilities shall remain undisturbed, we are not taking away the powers under the Information Technology Act.
“There shall not be illegal detention, save and except by procedure established by law, particularly with regard to assemblage of people beyond the area within which it’s imposed,” the bench said.
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| Edited by News Desk | | 
