Bonded to peace, not silence, say CJP leaders; vow to take protest nationwide
Despite mass police detentions, the Cockroach Janta Party confirmed its nationwide protests demanding the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation will continue, rejecting claims that peace-bound release bonds prohibit constitutional demonstrations against voter roll deletions.
Despite mass police detentions, the Cockroach Janta Party confirmed its nationwide protests demanding the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation will continue, rejecting claims that peace-bound release bonds prohibit constitutional demonstrations against voter roll deletions.
Despite mass police detentions, the Cockroach Janta Party confirmed its nationwide protests demanding the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation will continue, rejecting claims that peace-bound release bonds prohibit constitutional demonstrations against voter roll deletions.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Sunday reiterated its commitment to the agitation demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, stating that the protests would continue despite resistance from the state machinery.
CJP leaders alleged that the Modi government had created an “emergency-like situation” through train cancellations, restrictions on protests and the detention of activists, turning the state against its own citizens.
CJP leader Saurav Das alleged that the authorities could have invited a delegation for talks instead of restricting protesters seeking to demonstrate at a designated venue.
“They illegally detained us. They 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,” he said, referring to the condition imposed on the leaders' release.
The CJP also clarified in a post on X that its leaders had not signed any bond pledging not to protest.
“No CJP leader has signed any bond that says they will not protest any more. The bond refers to refraining of breach of peace. But participating in a peaceful protest is a Constitutional right and DOES NOT breach peace,” (sic) the post said.
“The protests are on... Protests will happen not just in Delhi but the whole country,” Das said at the press conference.
The press conference was held after CJP leaders and around 7,000 other protesters were detained by the Delhi Police at multiple locations across the national capital on Saturday, as police prevented demonstrators from reaching Jantar Mantar. Several opposition leaders, including former chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar, were also detained while attempting to join the protest.
Three CJP leaders — Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka — who were detained inside an Air India aircraft after it landed in Delhi on Saturday, were released by an Executive Magistrate's court on Sunday. They were released on bonds requiring them to maintain peace and good behaviour for one year.
The party had planned to launch an indefinite protest on October 10, but the Delhi Police denied permission, citing procedural issues and law and order concerns. The CJP and opposition groups have alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise led to the deletion of 13 crore voters from electoral rolls, raising concerns about voter exclusion and transparency.