NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday declined an urgent hearing on a plea challenging the New Delhi Municipal Council’s decision to shut Central Park in Connaught Place ahead of the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) proposed ‘Lehra do Tiranga’ protest, saying it hoped “better sense will prevail” among all concerned.A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said it was conscious of the difficulties that a closure could cause to small shopkeepers and their families, while observing that the right to protest, the need to maintain law and order and the livelihood of traders were interconnected issues.“We hope better sense will prevail on everyone. Small shopkeepers earn their livelihood during these days. We know the hardship and difficulty entire families will face,” the bench said.Justice Bagchi said the court could intervene if the restrictions resulted in business losses, adding that it would consider exercising its constitutional jurisdiction if required.“If there’s loss of business, we will exercise our powers under Constitutional jurisdiction. Let’s cross that bridge when it comes,” Justice Bagchi said.During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer submitted that the NDMC had issued directions late Thursday night to close Central Park, effectively preventing businesses from operating in the area. The civic body had announced that the park would remain closed to the public on October 16 and 17 for administrative reasons.The bench indicated that the plea could be listed on October 26 or 27.
CJP says protest will go ahead
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has called on citizens to gather at Central Park with the national flag at 5 pm on Friday, alleging that party members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were jailed for unfurling the Tricolour. The party has said it will proceed with the march despite the closure of the park and security restrictions.In a post on X, Dipke defended the party’s protests, rejected allegations that it was promoting anarchy and accused the government of restricting democratic rights.“Businesses do not suffer because of peaceful protests. They suffer when the govt decides to shut down an entire city, suspend internet services and restrict the movement of its own citizens and turn the city into a war-zone.”“Since its inception, the Cockroach Janta Party has maintained that we will always follow Mahatma Gandhi’s path of peace and non-violence, and we have stood by that commitment. We have organised protests in Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Nagpur, and every single one of them has been peaceful. I was personally assaulted in Jaipur, but even then, I chose not to retaliate because responding to violence with violence goes against everything we believe in. We would rather exercise the rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution, drafted under the leadership of Dr. BR Ambedkar, than resort to physical force. Our strength comes from our commitment to constitutional values, and no amount of provocation will make us abandon them.”“Despite this, there are constant attempts to portray us as anarchists simply because we refuse to remain silent. But demanding answers from the govt is not anarchy, protesting against injustice on the streets is not anarchy, and questioning those who hold public office is certainly not anarchy. These are the most fundamental expressions of democracy. The very party that is in power today spent decades organising protests, taking to the streets and questioning the governments of the day when it was in opposition. Had the same restrictions, intimidation and police crackdowns been used against them, many of those who occupy positions of power today might never have reached where they are. It is deeply hypocritical to celebrate protests as a democratic right when you are in opposition and treat the same act as a threat to public order when you come to power.”“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. 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.”“A govt that has been elected by the people is bound to listen to the people, not silence them. Democracy does not end once the votes have been counted.”
Security tightened ahead of ‘Lehra do Tiranga’ march
The proposed demonstration comes amid a standoff between the CJP and Delhi Police over protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.The CJP had announced the march after Das and Ranka were arrested for allegedly entering Jantar Mantar, which had been denotified as a designated protest site, and raising slogans demanding Kumar’s resignation. They were subsequently remanded to five days of judicial custody and lodged in Tihar Jail.Dipke has urged political parties and civil society organisations to set aside ideological differences and join the demonstration.“I request all political parties and civil society groups to rise above ideology and come together. If the right to vote is not saved, democracy will not be saved,” Dipke said at a press conference on Thursday.He also questioned the scale of voter deletions during the SIR exercise and alleged that the revisions could affect electoral outcomes.“The margin of victory in 2024 was just 2 per cent. Over 13 crore voters deleted — around 14 percent,” he said.“Where 2 per cent is deciding the election, you are deleting 13 crore votes. What is this if not a setting?” he added.The CJP has alleged that the government is shielding Kumar from scrutiny. These allegations have not been established by the court.
Police cite law and order concerns
Delhi Police has said Connaught Place is not a designated site for protests and that demonstrations can be held at Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground or CBD Ground after obtaining the requisite permissions.“Jantar Mantar has been denotified as a designated protest site. Protesters can hold demonstrations at Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground or CBD Ground after obtaining the requisite permission,” a senior police officer said.Security has been tightened around Connaught Place and Jantar Mantar, with several companies of paramilitary personnel stationed in the national capital. Police are deploying personnel at strategic locations, erecting barricades and regulating the movement of protesters and commuters to prevent any untoward incident.The NDMC issued its closure notice on Thursday, stating that Central Park would remain shut on October 16 and 17 for administrative reasons. The decision came a day after the CJP announced its proposed march at the park, located in the centre of Connaught Place’s inner circle.The party’s agitation began in Mumbai on October 2 and subsequently moved to Delhi. On October 10, a planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar was met with a police crackdown, with Dipke, Das and Ranka detained at the airport after arriving from Mumbai. Opposition leaders, activists and students were also detained during protests in the capital.
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On October 13, CJP members entered the barricaded Jantar Mantar site carrying the national flag and were detained.Opposition parties and student organisations have separately held demonstrations against the SIR exercise and demanded accountability from the Election Commission. INDIA bloc MPs marched towards the Election Commission headquarters on October 6 and were stopped by police barricades. Opposition leaders later met President Droupadi Murmu on October 9 to raise their concerns.The CJP has since framed its proposed Connaught Place march as a campaign for voting rights and the constitutional right to protest, setting up another confrontation over the restrictions imposed on demonstrations in central Delhi.
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