Guwahati: The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Monday expressed concern over reports that students and other protesters were allegedly being targeted, detained or arrested by state agencies in Assam, West Bengal and Bihar despite the Centre’s assurance that no punitive action would be taken against those who participated in the nationwide protests.
The crackdown has been particularly evident in Assam, where police arrested three youths from Lakhimpur district on July 23 for allegedly trying to organise a peaceful protest in support of the nationwide movement.
The trio, Monjur Rahman (23), Ashraful Islam (21), and Abdul Kashem (23) of Islampur village under Laluk Police Station, were booked under Sections 61(2)(b), 353(1), and 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) after allegedly creating a WhatsApp group to mobilise demonstrators.
Their families denied the charges, clarifying that no demonstration had taken place. “My son was trying to organise a protest. He had not even held a demonstration yet. He only tried to organise one,” said the father of one of the arrested youths.
The party’s statement came shortly after the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, orally observed that the right to peaceful and lawful protest is constitutionally guaranteed and that “merely because there is agitation, doesn’t mean lathi-charge.”
The court also said allegations of police excess should be independently examined and stressed the need for uniform police protocols for handling demonstrations across the country.
In a post on X, CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said the party had suspended its nationwide protest only after the Government of India assured its leaders that no punitive action would be taken against protesters in BJP- or NDA-ruled states.
Calling the reports from the three states “a matter of grave concern,” Das said, “First, we wish to assure every protestor that our legal team is already coordinating with brilliant lawyers in the concerned states to secure the release of those detained and to extend all possible legal assistance. This has been happening from Day 1.”
The CJP also appealed to the Centre, particularly BJP national president JP Nadda and Union Minister Jitendra Singh, to honour its assurance by ensuring the release of those detained and preventing any coercive or retaliatory action against protesters across the country. The party also demanded that all FIRs registered against protesters be withdrawn.
Das further reminded the Government of India of its commitment to provide the CJP with a written guarantee on the matter by Tuesday, July 28.
He said the party had suspended the nationwide protest in good faith based on the government’s assurance and warned that any deviation from that commitment would amount to a breach of trust with both the CJP and the lakhs of young Indians who chose dialogue over continued protests.
“The Government of India is reminded that it derives credibility not from just making a promise, but from the promises they honour,” Das said.
Addressing the protesters, he said, “To the young protestors we say, hold on. We are with you.”
The CJP said it continues to monitor the situation closely and expects the Government of India and BJP/NDA-ruled state governments to act with “utmost urgency, responsibility, and good faith that the present circumstances demand.”
The party demanded the immediate release of all detainees and arrestees, preferably by Tuesday, along with the withdrawal of all FIRs. It also warned that it would take “further necessary steps” if its demands were not met.