Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 14: The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has called for a ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ gathering to hoist the national tricolour at Central Park in Delhi’s business hub Connaught Place at 5 p.m. on Friday in a new way to continue the protest against the “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of electoral rolls and demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
Mr Dipke issued the call on Wednesday soon after returning to Delhi urging the “patriots” to gather with the national flag alleging that CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka have been “jailed only for unfurling the tricolour.” The announcement comes after Ranka and Das were sent to five days of judicial custody and lodged in Tihar Jail for allegedly violating their peace bonds and trespassing into Jantar Mantar, which has been denotified as a protest area.
In a related development, several organisations opposing the SIR on Wednesday have formed a joint platform, activist Tara Rao said. “People have been on streets, now we are going to set up our fight with broader presence going forward… we will ensure we are working at all levels, top down to the villages, and prove that SIR is wrong,” she said, criticising the police response to protests since July as “barbaric” and demanding the scrapping of the SIR along with CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
Rajan Kshirsagar, a leader of the All India Kisan Sabha, said more than 100 youth, labour and farmers’ organisations that assembled on Wednesday would launch a nationwide agitation on October 23 demanding the rollback of the SIR, Mr Kumar’s resignation, and an audit of deleted names.
Mr Dipke returned to Delhi from his native village in Maharashtra where he had gone to attend the last rites of his deceased grandmother, on Wednesday to join his colleagues. Dipke said they would show that waving the Tricolour was not a crime and urged those unable to travel to Delhi to organise Tiranga marches in their respective cities. He also expressed apprehension that he could be jailed as well.
“As you know, Saurav and Ashu have been jailed only for unfurling the tricolour. I urge all patriots who love the tricolour to come to Central Park, Connaught Place at 5 pm on October 16 with the national flag. We will show that waving a tiranga is not a crime,” Dipke said. “Those who cannot come to Delhi, take out tiranga marches in your cities in the evening, and show that the tricolour is our pride,” he said. “I also may be jailed after this, but I am not worried. Tricolour is my pride, and I will raise it,” the CJP founder added.
The CJP in a post on X, said, “The RSS didn’t hoist the National Flag at their headquarters for 52 years! We will hoist it and wave it, everywhere! This is our country! Attack us, jail us. We will not stop!”
CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were sent to 5 days’ judicial custody by a court in Delhi on Wednesday, a day after they were taken into custody for trespassing into Jantar Mantar amid their protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Das and Ranka were produced before a Special Executive Magistrate at Mandir Marg, following which they were sent to prison.
Ajinkya Shinde, who also accompanied them during the incident, was let off on bail after signing a bond of Rs 5,000 and on the condition of not taking in part in activities that disrupt public order for a year. Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde were detained on October 13 after climbing the locked gates of Jantar Mantar, a day after the site ceased to be a designated protest venue.
Delhi Police later put them on preventive arrest, while CJP’s head of legal affairs, Ratna Singh, alleged that the leaders were denied access to lawyers until late Tuesday night.
Delhi Police has taken action against 14 CJP members including Das, Ranka and Shinde after they allegedly entered Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Tuesday morning despite the site no longer being a designated venue for protests. According to a police press note, the group entered the area by trespassing through private premises. Police personnel deployed at the site attempted to stop them, but the protesters allegedly obstructed officers carrying out their official duties. All 14 were detained, and two FIRs were registered in connection with the incident.
Delhi police said its action was prompted by the alleged trespass, obstruction of police personnel and concerns about repeated attempts to disturb public peace and violate the law. The police also cited the alleged use of social media to encourage others to engage in similar unlawful activities. Based on these concerns Das, Ranka and Shinde were arrested under relevant preventive provisions of the law.
The police press note states that Jantar Mantar has been denotified as a designated protest site. The group allegedly entered the premises despite the change in its status.
Two FIRs were registered on October 13, 2026. FIR No. 289/26 was registered at Connaught Place police station under Sections 223A, 332 and 61(2). FIR No. 128/26 was registered at Parliament Street police station under Sections 221, 115(2), 132, 121(1) and 3(5).
The sections cited cover alleged offences relating to disobedience of a lawful order, obstruction or assault involving a public servant, and other offences mentioned in the FIRs. The precise allegations will be determined through the legal process.
Following their detention, all 14 individuals were bound down in their respective cases in accordance with the law. This means they were required to comply with legal conditions intended to prevent further violations.
The three CJP members were produced before the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM), where proceedings under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were initiated.
According to the police press note, the SEM court considered the details recorded in the kalandra, a report submitted to initiate proceedings, along with the alleged repeated violations of the law. The authorities expressed serious apprehension that the individuals could violate the law again and encourage others to do the same if released on bail. After considering the matter, the SEM court remanded Das and Ranka to five days of judicial custody.
Ajinkya Shinde was not sent to judicial custody. Instead, he was bound down to maintain peace and good behaviour for six months. The order requires him to furnish a personal bond and surety of Rs 5,000. In simple terms, he has been required to give a legal undertaking to maintain peace and behave appropriately during the specified period.
The police press note does not provide a separate explanation for why Shinde received this direction while Das and Ranka were remanded to judicial custody. It states that the action against all three followed preventive proceedings initiated before the SEM court. The investigation and legal proceedings will determine the further course of action in the cases.
Dipke slammed the arrest and five-day custody, asking if unfurling the Tricolour is a crime in the country. “Is unfurling the Tricolour a crime? Ashutosh and Saurav have been sent to jail for five days. Why? Because they went to Jantar Mantar and unfurled the Tricolour. The last time this happened was when the British ruled us. During British rule, freedom fighters who unfurled the Tricolour in public places were arrested and jailed,” Dipke said after landing in Delhi.
A video posted by Dipke showed CJP volunteers, including Ranka and Das, climbing a gate to reach Jantar Mantar. They then waved the national flag and raised slogans before being detained by the police. A number of Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, have condemned the arrests.
Earlier Dipke was heckled at the Delhi airport after he landed in the Capital on Wednesday. A video from the airport showed a man shouting at him as Dipke made his way out. “Why are you ruining the country?” a man is seen shouting at Dipke in the video. The CJP leader can be seen smiling and showing a thumbs-up sign to the heckler while walking out.
Meanwhile, Actor Prakash Raj criticised the arrest and five-day judicial custody of the CJP leaders after they entered Jantar Mantar with the national flag, calling the action a “big joke.” He questioned the Centre’s handling of the issue, alleged that the government was protecting the CEC and demanded that the SIR be scrapped.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said the Congress has the utmost respect for the Chief Justice of India, the Supreme Court and the judicial system, while asserting that political and public resistance would continue and ultimately triumph.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pawan Khera accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of using police deployment to restrict access to Jantar Mantar, asserting that the Opposition would reclaim the protest site when it decides to. Referring to the October 12 Delhi Chalo march, Khera claimed the government was losing control of the situation. Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Wednesday said the “vote chori” protests had energised the Opposition, asserting that no amount of police force could silence young protesters.
Cutouts of Gyanesh Kumar bearing the message “Gyanesh, it’s done bro” were installed outside the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) office at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Wednesday. MNS leader Amit Thackeray and other party leaders posed for selfies with the cutouts amid protests over the CEC and the de-notification of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site in Delhi.
Former Keralam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticised the detention of CJP leaders calling for the restoration of Jantar Mantar as a protest site and demanding the CEC’s resignation and prosecution. Responding to Vijayan’s remarks, Abhijeet Dipke thanked him for speaking out against the illegal arrest.
The DMK chief and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin, in a post on X, asked how many protesters the government could detain, and said jailing more youth would only bring more citizens onto the streets. “Solidarity with @AshutoshRanka and @SauravDassss! The DMK stands ready to provide them with all necessary legal representation and support,” he said.