Dipke said he was ready to go to jail for waving the Indian national flag, as the CJP urged supporters to gather at Central Park despite the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) announcing the closure for Friday and Saturday on “administrative” grounds.
TBS Report
16 October, 2026, 12:10 pm
Last modified: 16 October, 2026, 12:13 pm
A fresh confrontation is brewing between Delhi authorities and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), after the outfit's founder Abhijeet Dipke announced plans to hoist the national flag at Central Park in Connaught Place today (16 October), despite a two-day closure of the venue by the local civic body.
Speaking at a press conference late last night, Dipke alleged that police personnel were monitoring him and said he could be detained overnight or on Friday ahead of the planned protest.
Dipke said he was ready to go to jail for waving the Indian national flag, as the CJP urged supporters to gather at Central Park despite the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) announcing the closure for Friday and Saturday on "administrative" grounds.
The proposed demonstration is part of the CJP's campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The party has demanded Kumar's resignation, alleging that more than 130 million voters were deleted from the rolls.
Delhi Police has urged people to avoid gathering at Central Park, citing prohibitory orders and saying Connaught Place is not a designated protest site. However, police said a limited group could be permitted to wave the national flag and sing the national anthem at a suitable location.
"If we have to go to jail to wave the Tiranga in this country, then we are ready for it," Dipke said.
Questioning the decision to close the park, he said the authorities could not shut every location where the party might organise demonstrations.
"Tomorrow, we will say that we will wave the Tiranga at 100 places. So you will shut down all 100 places?" he said.
In a post on X, Dipke alleged that undercover police personnel had surrounded his accommodation and were following him in a white car.
Meanwhile, CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka are already in judicial custody after entering Jantar Mantar, a protest site that Delhi Police had recently denotified, and raising slogans demanding Kumar's resignation.