Ajinkya Shinde to lead CJP protest after detention of Dipke, top leaders

New Delhi: After the top leadership of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) was detained by Delhi Police on Saturday, the organisation named Ajinkya Shinde to lead its planned protest at Jantar Mantar.

Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained by Delhi Police aboard their aircraft upon landing at Delhi airport. The detentions came amid efforts to prevent the protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive, which the party claims led to the deletion of 13 crore voters from electoral rolls.

In a post on X, the CJP announced that Shinde, the organisation's in-charge, would lead the demonstration in the absence of its detained leaders.
“Until Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka are in detention, CJP’s Organization In-Charge Ajinkya Shinde will lead this protest at Jantar Mantar,” the party said.

Anticipating that the authorities might prevent its top leaders from reaching the protest venue, Dipke had also recorded a video in advance announcing Shinde's name as the person who would lead the demonstration.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police continued its crackdown on protesters in the national capital, detaining people and removing them from areas around the protest site. Those detained included senior CPM leaders and ordinary youngsters who had gathered to participate in the demonstration.

Around 25,000 police and paramilitary personnel were deployed on the ground as thousands gathered to protest, according to reports.