NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) activist Abhijeet Dipke on Friday questioned the heavy police deployment and restrictions ahead of the organisation’s proposed protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on October 10, asking whether the capital was the property of Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union home minister Amit Shah.Dipke asserted that the protest would be held despite the organisation not receiving permission from Delhi Police.He said the demonstration would go ahead regardless of whether permission was granted and said activists were prepared to face arrest.Questioning the measures taken ahead of the protest, Dipke said, “What is this fear? Why are you this scared? You are scared of the youth in the country. You shut down trains, you shut down metro, what should one do?”He also questioned the inconvenience caused to passengers, alleging that restrictions on public transport and roads would themselves cause hardship to ordinary people.“Is Delhi a property of Narendra Modi or Amit Shah? Is this their ancestral property? Is this their paternal property? On one hand, you say that due to the protest, people are facing inconvenience, and on the other hand, you shut down all the metro, you shut down all the railways, you block all the roads. Now, won’t there be inconvenience for people?” he said.Dipke said CJP activists were ready to face detention or arrest over the proposed demonstration.“How many people will they detain? Arrest me, detain me! Saurabh is ready, Ashutosh is ready. Arrest me, detain me!” he said.Questioning the requirement for police permission, Dipke cited Article 19 of the Constitution and said Jantar Mantar was a designated protest site.“Did Gyanesh Kumar take permission? Before deleting 13 crore votes, did Gyanesh Kumar take permission? The Supreme Court didn’t even give approval for the Form 6 modification. So, when Gyanesh Kumar, without telling anyone, without asking anyone, deletes 13 crore votes, then to protest against him, the constitutional right we have according to Article 19, what is the need for permission?” he said.Dipke also questioned the Delhi Police’s statement that applications for protests at Jantar Mantar must be submitted at least 10 days in advance, linking the restrictions to the proposed demonstration.“The government is very serious. I think Narendra Modi and Amit Shah should keep checking their blood pressure. The kind of fear this government is showing,” he said.(With inputs from ANI)
