Guwahati: The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) on Sunday accused authorities of imposing an “open Emergency” in Delhi, alleging that extensive security restrictions and disruptions to public transport were aimed at suppressing its youth-led movement demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Addressing a joint press conference in New Delhi, CJP activists Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka criticised the heavy security deployment, claiming that restrictions on public movement had inconvenienced ordinary citizens in an attempt to turn public opinion against the protest.
Drawing parallels with the 1975 Emergency, Das alleged that Delhi had effectively been turned into a cantonment, with between 30,000 and 40,000 security personnel deployed across the city.
He claimed that the deployment included border troops and personnel airlifted from Kashmir, Bengal and Naxal-affected regions. Das alleged that the measures extended beyond controlling protesters and were affecting residents with no connection to the agitation.
Das also accused the administration of deliberately disrupting public transport and commercial activity to generate resentment against the movement. He cited the closure of 57 metro stations, the suspension of train services, including Rajdhani services, and the closure of markets on a Sunday as examples of measures that had disrupted daily life.
During the press conference, Ranka criticised Delhi Police over the manner in which CJP activist Abhijeet Dipke was informed of his grandmother’s death while in detention on Saturday.
Dipke’s grandmother died after a prolonged illness in Santuk Pimpri village in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district, according to information provided by the police.
Ranka alleged that police personnel had surrounded Dipke with cameras and microphones while informing him of the bereavement, turning a moment of personal grief into a spectacle.
Delhi Police officials, however, said Dipke had been informed of the death sensitively. They said he was told about the funeral timings and offered assistance to travel to his village on humanitarian grounds.
The allegations came a day after heightened security and mass detentions in Delhi amid a confrontation over the CJP-led protest at Jantar Mantar. The party and several student organisations had called for demonstrations demanding Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission.
On Saturday, police detained CJP activists Dipke, Ranka and Das as they were about to disembark from a flight in Delhi, citing the absence of permission for their proposed protest.
Barricades were erected at the Ghazipur border, while the gates of 45 metro stations remained closed. Opposition parties and protesters accused the authorities of curbing democratic rights.
Around 1,000 people were detained across the national capital, including Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and CPI(M) leader and ex-Keralam CM Pinarayi Vijayan, prompting opposition leaders to accuse the government of authoritarianism, while the BJP countered with allegations of anarchy.
Delhi Police sources subsequently said all detainees held at detention centres had been released, except CJP leaders, for whom due legal process would be followed.
Police sources also said the extensive security deployment would continue amid the possibility of further protests called by the CJP, the All India Youth Federation (AIYF), the All India Students Federation (AISF) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI).