Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 1: As reports of more cases of detention and arrest by the police and the social media users being asked to take down posts related to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest last week kept surfacing, the Congress on Saturday ridiculed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “playing the victim card” while claiming that he had forgiven the youths who allegedly abused him and demanded an apology from him for the police brutality against the student demonstrators.
It also claimed that Mr Modi’s “InstaGram sabhas,” which it termed an act of “supreme self-obsession,” were fooling no one. “Late last night, in an act of supreme self-obsession, the Prime Minister said that he forgave our youth. This is an insult to the nation and to our youth, which has suffered under his government and is legitimately demanding an apology from him. The Prime Minister’s InstaGram Sabhas are fooling no one,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
In an Instagram video posted on Friday night, Mr Modi said it pained him that even his late mother was subjected to “filthy abuses” at the Jantar Mantar and lamented that “our daughters” had used such language, even as he called for forgiving the “misguided children.” The Prime Minister said he could understand the anguish prevailing in society, but stressed that this was the time to embrace the youth and guide them on the right path.
In his post, Mr Ramesh said, “The self-declared non-biological PM enjoys playing the victim card.” The Congress leader also said Mr Modi uses “vile vitriol” against his predecessors and political opponents. “He very frequently peddles lies to defame them, not just in his public speeches but in Parliament itself. He unleashes an army of foul-mouthed abusers both in Parliament and outside and gives them full protection. The entire nation is wanting the PM to apologise for the trauma inflicted on lakhs of youth through his paper leak-ridden NTA and his Home Ministry-sanctioned brutality on student protestors.
“The entire nation is waiting for the PM to apologise for the ‘Chanda Chori Astha Dhoka’ by the Ram Mandir Trust, an establishment which he had grandly announced in the Lok Sabha on February 5, 2020. The entire nation is still expecting his apology for his Tughlakian notebandi of November 8, 2016, that destroyed crores of livelihoods and shuttered lakhs of MSMEs. The list is endless,” the Congress leader said.
Even as several BJP-ruled states have claimed to have closed police cases against all those held in connection with the students’ demonstrations over the question paper leak, reports of people, including minors, being detained are surfacing from various parts of the country.
A 21-year-old youth, who was detained by the police in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh after being identified from a photograph taken while he was participating in a protest on July 26, was released on Wednesday. The youth said he was beaten up in police custody and the police wrongly accused him of vandalising a private vehicle, which belonged to a BJP member.
“They first called my father to the police station and then my mother. It was then that I went and surrendered myself to the police. I was merely there to protest, I was not involved in any vandalism, yet I was kept in detention for more than a day,” the victim said.
The Prayagraj Police had registered three First Information Reports (FIRs) at the Civil Lines police station on July 26 and July 27 in connection with the alleged vandalism of vehicles. The complainant in two cases are from the BJP, while in the third case, the son of a former BJP MP. The police, however, denied anyone was detained. “Nobody has been detained. People had been called for questioning based on CCTV footage, but they were released.”
Ten others were also arrested in the case but the police refused to admit. Another report said a 17-year-old boy from Bhagalpur in Bihar, who participated in a protest on July 25 was detained by the police from his home around 3.45 a.m. on July 26. The juvenile was among 40 others who were detained or arrested by the Bhagalpur Police after the protests turned violent.
Atulesh Jha, City Superintendent of Police, Bhagalpur, said the juvenile was produced before the juvenile justice board and the family was aware of his whereabouts. “As per the assurance given by the Bihar government, the case pertaining to the violence during the (students) protest is being withdrawn and all the people who were arrested are being released. We have written to the JJ Board informing them about the withdrawal of the case and he has been released,” Mr Jha claimed.
The officer added that the police were also withdrawing photographs of 155 people, including boys and girls, that had been released on the basis of CCTV footage and showed individuals allegedly involved in violence during the protest. Several Instagram users claimed that the videos related to the July 20 protests were being taken down.
Ms Anita Dipke, the mother of the CJP founder leader Abhijeet Dipke, has alleged that her son was threatened on phone to either join the BJP or his family would face severe consequences. She said the intimidation forced the parents to flee their home and take shelter at a relative’s residence in the Konkan region for 16 days.
Mr Abhijeet Dipke formed the CJP, a satirical online movement, on May 16, following remarks made during a Supreme Court hearing by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant. It transformed from an online parody into a nationwide youth-led protest movement that culminated in the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan last week.
Mr Abhijeet Dipke was living in Boston, USA, when he formed the CJP. He subsequently returned to India to transition the digital campaign into street protests. “Abhijeet received threats but initially did not tell us. He mentioned a video and advised me not to watch it,” his mother said, adding, “In the clip, he was warned that if he does not join the BJP, his parents would be dealt with sternly.” She said Abhijeet later asked his parents to move out of their house and stay somewhere else for a few days, considering the threat.
“Abhijeet told me that he himself was not afraid of such threats, but asked us to stay away from home as we are not used to such things. After that, we decided to move out. We went to our relative’s residence in Konkan, where we stayed for 16 days,” Ms Anita Dipke said. ”He was worried as he was not with us at that time and also because his father suffers from low blood pressure,” she added.
His father said being involved in social work means one will have to face criticism. “But there are people who applaud your work. People whose thinking is ‘fixed’ indulge in criticism, while others deliberate on the happenings before reacting,” he said.
Meanwhile, a video is being widely circulated in the social media about a girl apologising before the nation for using abusive terms against the Prime Minister during the CJP protest in Delhi. In the video she is seen wearing a striped T-shirt and speaks with folded hands, “I came under the influence of some people at the protest and said a lot of bad things against the Prime Minister.”
While the FIR had mentioned that she is 25 years old, in the apology video the girl claims she is “just 15 years old.” “I am only 15 years old. Whatever I did was not worthy of forgiveness. I have said a lot of bad things.” Calling it her “first and last mistake,” she adds, “I apologise to the entire country. I am so ashamed. I can’t even look at myself. Please forgive me.”
On Wednesday, a complaint was filed against the girl at a Noida police station over her remarks against the Prime Minister. Noida Police filed a Zero FIR, which was later transferred to Parliament Street Police Station in New Delhi. The complainant stated that her comments insulted the dignity of the Prime Minister’s office and could spread disharmony and disturb public peace. The apology video emerged just a few hours after Mr Modi’s latest Instagram video appealing for restraint and forgiveness following abusive slogans directed at him during student protests.