CJP protest: Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee detained in Delhi

Four former chief ministers, including Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar, were detained in Delhi on Saturday as they attempted to join a protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Delhi Police also detained more than 3,000 people across the national capital as the proposed protest faced heavy security deployment and restrictions.

Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress chief, was detained along with several party MPs after police stopped them from proceeding in central Delhi. She staged a protest at a bus stop on South Avenue before being taken away by the police.

Police also detained three CJP leaders, including founder Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, amid heightened security in the capital.

Videos shared by the CJP showed police personnel entering an aircraft carrying Dipke to Delhi. In the footage, he is heard telling officers, “I have come here to be arrested, arrest me.” An officer responds that he is not under arrest and asks him to cooperate.

Earlier on Saturday, the CJP announced on social media that its ‘Jantar Mantar 2.0’ campaign had begun. The party declared an end to what it alleged was Gyanesh Kumar’s role in facilitating ‘vote chori’, a term used to describe alleged electoral malpractice.

Speaking to a news agency before arriving in Delhi, Dipke questioned the security measures, alleging that railway services and metro operations had been halted, internet access restricted and roads blocked.

He also claimed that Army personnel had been brought from Jammu and Kashmir and Central Reserve Police Force personnel moved from areas affected by Naxalite violence.

“Does the Central government want to wage war against the people of its own country?” Dipke asked, questioning the scale of the security deployment over the issue involving the Chief Election Commissioner.