New Delhi: Hours after being released from detention, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders on Sunday vowed to continue their agitation against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the Modi government had created an "Emergency-like situation". Addressing a press conference, CJP leader Saurav Das said the protest would now expand nationwide.
Das alleged that the Modi government had turned the state against its own citizens. The authorities could have invited a delegation for talks instead of restricting protesters seeking to demonstrate at a designated site, he said. Saying the police had illegally detained them without any formal notice, he alleged that their phones were seized and that they were not allowed to contact a lawyer.
Referring to the conditions imposed on their release, Das said, "They have 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." "The protests are on... Protests will happen not just in Delhi, but across the country," Das said.
"This protest will not stop till Kumar resigns," CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka said. Das said the situation resembled an Emergency under a dictatorial regime and alleged that the government was also targeting journalists covering the protests.
He also slammed Delhi Police personnel for entering Gurudwara Bangla Sahib wearing shoes and without covering their heads, and for forcibly removing protesters. He appealed to the Sikh community to stand with the protesters.
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SFI leader Aishe Ghosh said the agitation would continue despite the restrictions. Ghosh alleged that right-wing groups had been allowed to assault CJP protesters. She also raised the alleged assault of a minor girl and a boy, saying such incidents could not be tolerated.
Four men have been arrested for allegedly assaulting students and pushing and hitting women on Delhi's DDU Marg on Saturday. The arrests came a day after a purported video of the incident went viral on social media, showing the men assaulting young students and physically manhandling women.
"Even in 1975, trains were not shut," Ranka said, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah of turning the agitation against the ECI into a fight against themselves.