Government restrictions hurt businesses, not peaceful protests: Dipke

Businesses do not suffer because of peaceful protests but when the government shuts down an entire city, suspends internet and restricts citizens’ movement, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijit Dipke said on Friday.

In a post on X, Dipke defended the party’s commitment to peace and non-violence ahead of its proposed ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march at Central Park in Connaught Place.

The CJP had organised protests in Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Nagpur, and all of them were peaceful, he said.

Dipke said he was personally assaulted in Jaipur but chose not to retaliate, since responding to violence with violence went against the movement’s principles.

“We would rather exercise the rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution, drafted under the leadership of Dr B R Ambedkar, than resort to physical force,” he said.

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Rejecting attempts to portray CJP members as anarchists, Dipke said demanding answers from the government, protesting against injustice and questioning public office-holders were fundamental expressions of a democracy.

He accused the ruling party of hypocrisy, pointing out that it had organised protests and questioned governments when it was in opposition but was now treating similar demonstrations as a threat to public order.

“Demanding answers from the government is not anarchy, protesting against injustice on the streets is not anarchy, and questioning those who hold public office is certainly not anarchy,” Dipke said.

The same restrictions, intimidation and police crackdowns, if used against the ruling party when it was in the opposition, could have prevented many of its leaders from reaching positions of power, he said.

“So, let us fulfil our duty as citizens of this country by questioning those we elect, demanding accountability and speaking up whenever we witness injustice,” he said.

“We are not asking for privileges or special treatment. We are simply asking to exercise the rights that belong to every citizen of this Republic, irrespective of which party is in power,” he said.

“A government elected by the people is bound to listen to the people, not silence them. Democracy does not end once the votes have been counted,” he wrote.

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Dipke’s post comes amid a standoff between the CJP and Delhi Police.

The outfit has called for a ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march at Central Park at 5 pm on Friday, after CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were sent to five days’ judicial custody for entering Jantar Mantar, which has been denotified as a designated protest site, with a national flag on October 13.

However, the New Delhi Municipal Council has announced that Central Park will remain closed to the public on Friday and Saturday for administrative reasons.

Das, Ranka and others had breached police barricades and entered Jantar Mantar as part of their larger agitation against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

In view of the proposed CJP march, Delhi Police has deployed more than 6,000 personnel and 220 companies of Central Armed Police Forces in the New Delhi area.

Police have said that no permission has been granted for the demonstration and cited prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.

They have also said they could facilitate a select group of protesters to wave the national flag and sing the national anthem at a suitable alternative location.