CJP Gives Delhi Police 24-Hour Ultimatum to Decide on Jantar Mantar Protest

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Monday gave the Delhi Police 24 hours to respond to its request for permission to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, asserting that peaceful demonstrations are a constitutional right.

CJP Co-Convenor Saurav Das said the party had left it to the police to suggest a suitable date and time for the proposed demonstration but would not allow the request to remain pending indefinitely.

“Peaceful protest is a right, a constitutional right, and people are already exercising it. People will continue to hold peaceful protests,” Das said, adding that the police often ask organisers to approach them 10 days in advance.

“This time, we have left the choice to them and asked them to suggest a date and time for our protest. We are leaving everything to them, but we are also saying that they should not keep the matter pending indefinitely. We will give them a 24-hour ultimatum,” he said.

Another CJP Co-Convenor, Ashutosh Ranka, visited the Parliament Street Police Station to seek a date for the demonstration. He said the party hoped the police would grant permission and indicated that it would decide on its next course of action within 24 hours if no date was provided.

The latest development follows the party’s allegations on Sunday that the government was “scared” and that protests initially directed against the Election Commission and CEC Gyanesh Kumar were being turned into a confrontation with the government.

Addressing a press conference hours after being released by a Delhi court following preventive arrest, Ranka alleged that the country had witnessed “peak authoritarianism” over the preceding 72 hours.

“In the last 72 hours, the country has witnessed peak authoritarianism. Thousands of peaceful protesters who wanted to stage an agitation at a designated protest site have been detained from across the country,” he claimed.

Ranka further alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had turned the agitation against the Election Commission and Gyanesh Kumar into a confrontation with the government.

“One thing has become clear: the fight that was against the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has been turned by PM Modi and Amit Shah into a fight against themselves,” he said.

The party’s request for permission and the police’s response are now central to the proposed Jantar Mantar demonstration. The CJP has maintained that it intends to continue its agitation through peaceful protest.