Desk report: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “dictator” and said that he is “afraid of the youth of the nation” as he left for Delhi from Mumbai to lead the protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday.
Meanwhile, authorities ramp up security in Delhi, deploying drones and installing barricades and spike strips as Abhijeet Dipke and Team CJP head to Jantar Mantar for the protest. Police also detained over 1,000 people overnight and removed protesters near the protest site.
Ahead of the proposed protests at Jantar Mantar and other locations in Delhi on Saturday (Oct 10), the authorities have taken pre-emptive action by shutting down major metro stations and cancelling trains, citing the likelihood of “unruly mob movement towards sensitive locations.” Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announced that entry and exit at 45 metro stations will remain closed from 9 PM on Friday (Oct 9) through 6 pm on Saturday (Oct 10).
Meanwhile, Indian Railways has announced a 10-hour suspension of train services at New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations, from 4 am to 2 pm on Saturday (Oct 10), citing anticipated traffic congestion. Mail and Express trains scheduled to arrive during this window will be cancelled at their originating stations.
“Narendra Modi is a dictator. He is scared, which is why he has closed the Delhi Metro, roads, everything. If he is this scared of the youth of the nation, why is he sitting in the PM’s post?” he told reporters.
Questioning the curbs on Delhi Metro and heavy security blanket, Dipke asked in a conversation with news agency ANI later: “Do Narendra Modi and Amit Shah want to wage war against the people of their own country? Is Gyanesh Kumar so dear to them that they would unleash their police and army forces upon their own citizens?”
Dipke said that Modi is “afraid as he fears that the people of this country will not vote for him after this”.
Defending the group’s planned protest at Jantar Mantar, he said, “Protesting is our fundamental right. Article 19 grants us the fundamental right to protest in a democratic and peaceful manner, and that is exactly what we intend to do.”
More than 40,000 personnel deployed
With a massive gathering expected on Saturday, the Capital has been turned into a fortress, with more than 40,000 Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) personnel deployed to prevent protesters from converging on Jantar Mantar for a demonstration called by the CJP against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral roll irregularities.
Jantar Mantar, the intended focal point of the protest, was sealed off even to media personnel. Its connecting roads were barricaded and manned by security forces, with loudspeakers at three key entry-exit points broadcasting warnings in Hindi and English against gatherings, processions, road blockades and other prohibited activities under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Source: Indian news agencies
