NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Friday said he would travel from Mumbai to Delhi for a march at Jantar Mantar on October 10, asserting that the protest would continue even if he was detained or arrested.The proposed demonstration seeks accountability from chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, news agency ANI reported.Dipke alleged that a video posted by him on his X account was “blocked”.Meanwhile, in the “blocked” video posted on CJP’s X account, Dipke urged people to participate in the march in large numbers while maintaining peace and discipline.He said he would not back down despite the possibility of being detained or arrested upon arriving in the national capital.“Tomorrow our march is going to take place at Jantar Mantar. For that, tomorrow morning I will leave from Mumbai for Delhi. After landing in Delhi, what will happen to me, I don’t know. Whether I will be arrested right from the airport or arrested after that, I’m really not sure. But one thing is for sure: I am not going to step back, I am not going to be afraid, because we have to save our country’s democracy,” Dipke said in a video.Dipke said he was prepared for legal action, including the invocation of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) or the National Security Act (NSA), and maintained that CJP’s demands centred on free and fair elections.Dipke urged fellow protestors to continue the protest even if he gets detained or arrested.“If this government wants to invoke the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against me, the National Security Act (NSA), or whatever they want to invoke, you can do so. But what I am fighting for, what CJP is fighting for, is free and fair elections. We need free and fair elections, and those elections cannot happen without the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, cannot happen without scrapping SIR, and cannot happen without an independent selection procedure through which election commissioners are selected. That process needs to be neutral and independent. Without that, free and fair elections cannot happen,” he added.Calling the demonstration a fight to protect democracy, Dipke appealed to participants to keep the march peaceful and non-violent.He urged protesters to follow the law and avoid actions that could undermine the purpose of the demonstration, ANI reported.“This is a fight to save the country’s democracy. Therefore, all of you, please come to Delhi’s Jantar Mantar tomorrow in large numbers. But again, my request to everyone is—remember, we are law-abiding citizens, we are peaceful citizens. So no mistake should be made from our end. We are not goons,” he added.Dipke also alleged that attempts could be made to disrupt the demonstration, referring to the recent release on bail of Swatantra Bharadwaj.“It is possible that during this time, these people might send some goons from outside to ruin things, just like they did last time. And that Swatantra Bharadwaj, they have granted him bail now, so they did it for these very reasons, so that they can intentionally try to ruin things. But this is your responsibility. We are responsible citizens. I love my country, which is why I left America and came back to my country,” he said.He urged supporters not to make the protest revolve solely around him and said the demonstration should continue even if he was arrested.“So after I go to jail or after I get arrested, your protest should not stop. It’s up to the people of India, it’s up to the believers of the Constitution, it’s up to the people who love this country to make this protest a big success,” he said.Meanwhile, Delhi Police on Friday rejected the application seeking permission for the October 10 demonstration.Officials cited short notice, past non-compliance and prevailing law-and-order concerns as reasons for rejecting the application.The proposed march comes amid heightened security arrangements in the national capital, with authorities preparing to manage traffic and maintain law and order around Jantar Mantar and other areas.(With agency inputs)
