Mamata, Stalin, and Kejriwal back detained protest leaders in Delhi
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Opposition leaders, including Mamata Banerjee, M.K. Stalin and Arvind Kejriwal, on Friday backed Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and AISA president Neha Bora after Delhi Police detained them during protests against electoral fraud.
Dipke was detained at his residence in Jhandewalan before heading to Connaught Place for a planned ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ event. Bora was detained near Mandi House while on her way to join the protests.
Banerjee criticised the detentions in a post on X. “Abhijeet Dipke has been detained for holding the Indian National Flag. Let that sink in. In Independent India, our youth are being detained for peacefully asserting their democratic rights,” she wrote.
The Trinamool Congress chief described the situation as “an undeclared Emergency” and expressed solidarity with Dipke and two other detained CJP leaders, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das.
Stalin questioned the whereabouts of the detained leaders. “Detaining them without disclosing their whereabouts is blatantly illegal and deeply inhumane,” he wrote on X. He called on the Union government to release them and demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Kejriwal called the action “sheer dictatorship” and questioned whether waving the national flag was a crime.
The BJP, however, accused the protesters of attempting to create anarchy. Party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi alleged that their intention was not to defend democracy but to act on the instructions of foreign interests.
Delhi Police said around 100 people had been detained by Friday evening from Barakhamba Road, Mandi House and other locations. Police cited the absence of permission for the proposed march and concerns over compliance with the Flag Code.
A senior police officer said the detentions were aimed at maintaining law and order and ensuring smooth traffic movement.
Police later said protesters had completed a 15 to 20-minute march around Connaught Place’s Inner Circle. Participants were allowed to carry the national flag, and no one was detained from the Inner Circle.