New Delhi:
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has claimed that the Delhi Police may detain him soon, alleging that the Intelligence Bureau personnel were keeping watch on him and that vehicles without number plates have been following him - ahead of the 'Lehra Do Tiranga' protests in Mumbai and the national capital today.
Dipke, while speaking to the media late last night, said that he was "ready to go to jail" for waving the national flag if he has to.
"Delhi Police can detain me tonight or tomorrow morning, but we are not going to be scared by this. We will peacefully go and wave the Tiranga. If we have to go to jail to wave the Tiranga in this country, then we are ready for it," he said.
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Citing the arrest of his CJP colleagues, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, Dipke said, "We are just saying that remove Gyanesh Kumar, who is not even listening to his ECs, and appoint a new election commissioner in an independent, unbiased manner. Is this a crime...We are not saying we want to change the regime."
The CJP has called on the general public and its supporters to gather at Connaught Place's Central Park this evening at 5 PM to wave the national flag as a part of its protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the alleged irregularities in the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. In view of this, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) announced that Central Park would be shut today and tomorrow (October 16 and 17).
Reacting to this, Dipke questioned, "Tomorrow, we will say that we will wave the Tiranga at 100 places. So you will shut down all 100 places?"
A total of 6,000 Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in Connaught Place, with officials warning action against those who break the law.
The protest call came hours after the Delhi High Court refused to restrain the CJP from holding the protest in the centre of the national capital, and instead took on record the police's assurance that it would "regulate" the gathering.
Building on that "regulation" and citing the court proceedings, the police on Thursday evening appealed to the general public not to join the assembly, saying prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were in force in Connaught Place and adjoining areas. The cops also noted that it could facilitate only a "group of 11 persons" to carry the national flag and sing the national anthem "at a suitable place" in Central Park.
The CJP has also called for a similar protest at Mumbai's Azad Maidan today from 10 AM to 5 PM to express solidarity with jailed party leaders Ranka and Das.
The Mumbai police have granted permission for the protest as Azad Maidan is a designated protest site, an official said.
Das and Ranka were sent to five-day judicial custody on Wednesday after trespassing Delhi's Jantar Mantar and raising slogans demanding Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.
(With inputs from PTI)