New Delhi, Oct 16: Delhi Police personnel visited Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke at his place of stay on Friday and served him a notice restricting his participation in the outfit’s proposed ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march at Connaught Place’s Central Park, scheduled for 5 pm.
Dipke questioned the police action, asking whether carrying and waving the national flag had become a crime in the country.
“Is all this just to restrict me from raising our national flag? Is it a crime?” he asked, questioning the restrictions imposed ahead of the planned gathering.
According to Dipke, seven to eight police personnel reached his residence hours before the proposed march and told him that he was engaging in an “unlawful activity” and “provoking people” by carrying the Tricolour.
“Are they stopping us from carrying our own Tricolour in our own country? This is what Narendra Modi has turned our country into. We cannot even wave our Tricolour in our own country,” he said.
Dipke also questioned the contents of the notice served by the police, claiming it referred to his proposed visit to Jantar Mantar, while the CJP had announced a gathering at Central Park in Connaught Place.
The police personnel asked him to sign certain documents, which he initially refused to do. He later agreed to sign the papers after adding a note of his own, he said.
During his interaction with the police, Dipke also raised concerns over women’s safety in the national capital.
“Please focus on women’s safety in Delhi, they are really unsafe,” he told the police personnel.
The police visit came a day after Dipke sought to clarify the CJP’s position on the agitation, distancing the organisation from demands for a change of government and reiterating that its primary demand was the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Speaking at a press conference late Thursday, Dipke said the campaign was focused on accountability within the Election Commission rather than a change of regime.
“We are not saying we want to change the government… we are simply saying that the Election Commissioner who is rigging elections… should be removed and a new Election Commissioner should be appointed in an independent and unbiased manner. We believe in Gandhi ji,” he had said.
The CJP had called on supporters to assemble at Connaught Place’s Central Park with the national flag for the ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march at 5 pm on Friday. The proposed gathering comes amid continuing protests and demands for action against the Chief Election Commissioner.
