Jantar Mantar under heavy security again after CJP's fresh protest threats
Following a fresh warning from the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) that it will resume its agitation unless all FIRs against protesters are withdrawn immediately, the
Following a fresh warning from the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) that it will resume its agitation unless all FIRs against protesters are withdrawn immediately, the Delhi Police has stepped up security at Jantar Mantar by deploying additional personnel and welding together metal barricades at the protest site. The enhanced security comes days after the CJP accused the Centre of reneging on its assurance that no legal action would be taken against protesters and threatened to return to the streets. Read Full Story Visuals from Jantar Mantar, where the CJP staged its 36-day protest demanding the resignation of former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, show barricades on both sides of the venue being welded together with iron to prevent protesters from moving beyond the designated area or removing the barriers during any future demonstration.
Heavy security deployment also continues at Jantar Mantar, with personnel from the Delhi Police, paramilitary forces and other security agencies stationed across the venue. Earlier on Tuesday, the CJP warned that it would restart its protest, alleging that the Centre had violated the July 25 understanding reached after the agitation by allowing criminal proceedings against protesters to continue. CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka accused the government of a "complete breach" of the agreement, claiming that hundreds of students had been arrested in BJP-ruled states despite assurances that no legal action would follow. Ranka demanded the immediate withdrawal of all FIRs, the release of detained protesters, an end to the registration of fresh criminal cases by the Delhi Police, central agencies and police in BJP-ruled states, and the public release of the signed agreement.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, while speaking to the media after returning to his hometown in Maharashtra, said the government was forcing the CJP to launch another agitation. "The government is forcing us to start a protest against....it should stop troubling the students. The anger is still there among students, because their anger was not against just one minister, but against the entire government. The government should fall in line, else the students will do it," he said. The party also announced the formation of a nationwide legal aid cell and launched an online evidence-gathering platform, SAAKSHI, to assist protesters facing legal action.
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal announced a corpus of Rs 1 crore to provide legal assistance to those booked in connection with the protests. The CJP had called off its protest on July 25 after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union Education Minister. Ends
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