The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and several student organisations have announced another demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi at 10am on Sunday, vowing to continue their protests daily until Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resigns or is removed over allegations of “vote chori” and collusion with the ruling BJP.
The announcement came despite a police crackdown on Saturday that saw thousands of protesters detained across the national capital, reports NDTV.
CJP National Organisation In-charge Ajinkya Shinde, who has been tasked with leading the protest in the absence of the group’s detained senior leaders, said the mass detentions would not weaken their resolve.
“The government must have thought we will return home after the detentions today. This fear of [PM Narendra] Modi and [Home Minister Amit] Shah shows we have won half the fight,” he said.
The party’s founder, Abhijeet Dipke, and other senior leaders remained in custody following their detention by police.
At least 3,000 people were detained and later released across Delhi after the CJP called for a gathering at Jantar Mantar, a prominent protest site in the heart of the capital, on Saturday.
Dipke had appointed Shinde to lead the demonstration in his absence.
“Every day, there will be marches to Jantar Mantar from now on, until Gyanesh Kumar is sacked as CEC,” Shinde said.
Srijan Bhattacharyya, general secretary of the Student Federation of India (SFI), called for the “broadest possible unity against this dictatorial regime”, targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“From Sunday, student protests will spread to different corners of the country. They will peacefully demonstrate everywhere, and wherever they are blocked by police barricades, that area will become a ‘Jantar Mantar’,” he said.
The Congress-led INDIA bloc has also announced a demonstration for Monday. Its leaders are scheduled to meet Chief Justice Surya Kant at the Supreme Court to submit a memorandum, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said.
