Amidst the festival season, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has renewed its call for protests after its leaders were released on Sunday post their preventive detention. Late on Sunday night, CJP leader Ashutosh Ranka wrote on X, “Tomorrow at 10AM, me, Saurav Das, Ratna Singh and other CJP leaders will go to Parliamentary Street Police Station to get a date for a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar. Delhi Police can give us a date for Jantar Mantar in 24 hours, or we will give another protest call ourselves,” threatening further protests.
The demonstration by the CJP comes in the wake of alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The primary demand of the CJP is the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of the ECI, Gyanesh Kumar.
This development comes after reportedly thousands of demonstrators, including politicians, were detained and subsequently released by the Delhi Police on the first two days of the protest. These protesters included former chief ministers, namely Mamta Bannerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan; activists like Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav, and several student organisations.
Protests in Delhi Without Permission
The initial protests against the CEC were scheduled by the CJP in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, to be carried out on Saturday (October 10). However, the Delhi Police had unequivocally denied them the permission to protest.
CJP’s co-convenor Saurav Das had submitted the application for protest only 3 days prior to the protest, that is on October 7. This intimation falls very short of the requisite guidelines, which require an application to be submitted at least 10 days before the demonstration.
The Joint Commissioner of Police Nupur Prasad also highlighted that, “It is also important to note that, based on the past conduct of the CJP on a separate occasion, undertakings and lawful directions given previously were not followed.”
Delhi Markets see ₹250 Crores Daily Loss
In addition, the disruptions by the CJP could potentially cause heavy losses to the traders in Delhi. During this festive and wedding period from October till January, Delhi markets see a trade turnover of ₹500 crores to ₹600 crores daily, as per the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).
The demonstrations by CJP could risk this shopping period due to the prolonged road closures and traffic restrictions, causing an estimated loss of ₹250 crores of business on a day-to-day basis.
The affected commercial areas include Connaught Place, Janpath, Khan Market, Sadar Bazaar
and Daryaganj.
Jantar Mantar De-Notified as a Protest Site
Furthermore, on October 11, the Delhi Police de-notified Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site, with the standing order officially made public today (October 12). The standing order, issued by Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, has notified 3 new sites for protests and demonstrations in East Delhi, which are Ramlia Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground.