Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has publicly backed Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, who were sent to five-day judicial custody on Wednesday after being arrested during a protest at Jantar Mantar.
Ranka and Das were accused of trespassing at the venue after the Centre denotified Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site. The development marked Rahul Gandhi’s first public expression of support for the CJP leadership.
“Waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar in a peaceful protest is not a crime. Jailing youth for it is an act of cowardice,” Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X.
He also maintained that demonstrations by students, journalists, civil society organisations and the INDIA bloc represented a single movement under different banners, with citizens seeking to assert their constitutional rights. Gandhi said the Congress would oppose the Centre’s decision to remove Jantar Mantar’s protest-site status and added that the people would reclaim the venue.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke thanked Gandhi for his support. Reacting to the judicial custody order, Dipke said he was concerned about the country and questioned when waving the Tricolour had become a breach of peace.
Fourteen people, including CJP leaders, were detained on Tuesday morning after allegedly entering Jantar Mantar by climbing over a gate and barricades. They waved the Tricolour and raised slogans before being taken into custody.
The group was booked for trespassing and violating bail-bond conditions signed a day earlier. The individuals had been detained after being taken off a plane when they arrived in Delhi to lead the October 10 protest. Dipke, Ranka and Saurav were subsequently released on bail after furnishing bonds undertaking that they would not disturb the peace for one year. Police alleged that the flash protest at Jantar Mantar breached those conditions.
Support from opposition leaders
Rahul Gandhi’s statement came as questions continued over protests by different groups against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. He has recently argued that these demonstrations should be viewed as one protest, despite being organised under separate banners.
The Congress leader had faced criticism for not sharing the stage with CJP leaders in July and during the latest protest. In an apparent effort to counter that perception, All India Students’ Association leader Neha Bora joined Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi during a march in Delhi on Monday. Bora was also invited to Gandhi’s tea gathering on Tuesday along with representatives of several civil society groups, although the CJP was not invited.
The latest statement signals a shift in Rahul Gandhi’s approach as the protests continue and criticism grows over the Congress maintaining distance from the CJP.
Other opposition leaders have also criticised the action against the CJP members. Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal described their imprisonment as ridiculous and asked whether waving India’s flag in the country could be considered a crime.
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee said it was ironic that people were being arrested for unfurling and waving the Tricolour in India, while the Union Government treated the act as a breach of peace. DMK chief MK Stalin and UBT Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray also condemned the action against the CJP leaders.
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