File photo: Brij Bhushan Singh and Elon Musk
NEW DELHI: BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Friday alleged that Elon Musk was orchestrating the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) “Lehra Do Tiranga” protest, calling it a conspiracy against India as the party prepared to hold demonstrations in Delhi and Mumbai.“This entire movement is being orchestrated at his (Elon Musk) behest. It is a massive conspiracy against our nation,” Singh said in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. He alleged that India was being compared with Bangladesh and Pakistan and claimed the march was intended to intimidate the Supreme Court. Singh did not provide evidence for the allegations.
The CJP has called for a flag march at Central Park in Delhi’s Connaught Place at 5pm on Friday, October 16, while its Mumbai unit has received police permission to hold a demonstration at Azad Maidan from 10am to 5pm.
CJP protests arrests of leaders
The proposed demonstrations follow the arrests of CJP co-conveners Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das after they reached Jantar Mantar in Delhi. The two were subsequently remanded to five days of judicial custody by a special executive magistrate.CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has urged citizens to join the Delhi march, maintaining that waving the national flag is a democratic right. The party has also called for parallel Tiranga marches in other cities.
In Mumbai, CJP in-charge Pranay Ahire said the demonstration was intended to assert the party’s patriotism.“We want to show the government that we are the real patriots, not the fake patriots or fake deshbhakts that this government is,” Ahire said in an Instagram video.
Ahire said the party had permission for only a one-day protest and ruled out confirming any indefinite sit-in.
Security tightened in Delhi
Police sources said several companies of paramilitary forces would be deployed in and around Connaught Place and Jantar Mantar ahead of the proposed Delhi gathering.
Barricades are expected at strategic locations, with police regulating the movement of protesters and commuters.A senior police officer said Connaught Place is not a designated protest site. Jantar Mantar has also been denotified as a designated protest site, the officer said, adding that demonstrations can be held at Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground or CBD Ground after obtaining the required permission.