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Dipke alleges police surveillance ahead of Delhi Tiranga march (Img: Dynamite News)
New Delhi: Hours before the “Lehra Do Tiranga” march called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the All India Students’ Association (AISA), CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke alleged that police personnel had been deployed around the house where he is staying in Delhi’s Karol Bagh.
The two-storey residence on Rani Jhansi Road belongs to Anish Gawande, spokesperson for the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar). Speaking to The Indian Express on Friday, Gawande questioned the scale of the police presence around his home in the run-up to the demonstration.
“It is frankly quite amusing to see the extent of police deployment outside and around my house over the last few days, especially in the hours before the Tiranga March. I would have presumed that such a force would be better deployed towards protecting women and reducing crime in the national capital,” Gawande said.
A senior Delhi Police officer, when contacted, said the police were monitoring the situation but denied making any specific arrangements outside the residence of an individual. The march is scheduled to begin at 5 pm.
Late Thursday evening, Dipke and CJP legal head Ratna Singh alleged that police and intelligence personnel had been stationed around the residence.
Addressing the media, Dipke questioned the security measures taken ahead of the march and accused the authorities of deploying excessive force against those planning to demonstrate.
“What is this mazaak? We gave a call for a protest on October 10, and you brought Delhi to a standstill and called in forces from Jammu and Kashmir. You have continued to deploy forces around us wherever we go. What are you scared of? Is waving the Tricolour in this country a crime? Declare it officially,” he said.
Dipke also alleged that Intelligence Bureau personnel were following members of the group and questioned whether authorities would impose restrictions at every location where the outfit planned to unfurl the national flag.
“Wherever we go, Intelligence Bureau personnel follow us. They seem to have no other work to do. How many places will you shut down? If we say we are going to unfurl the Tricolour at 1,000 places, will you shut down all of them? If you want to put us in jail for unfurling the flag, we are ready to go. This situation is like the Emergency. Narendra Modi is afraid to declare it because he thinks it will damage the country’s image,” he alleged.
Reiterating that the march would remain peaceful, Dipke said the group was committed to the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar.
“I want to make this clear: we are followers of Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar, and we will peacefully unfurl the flag at Connaught Place, which is our fundamental right,” he said.
Ahead of the demonstration, police have installed multiple layers of barricades at Connaught Place to prevent protesters from entering Central Park, where the march is scheduled to take place.
Police are also monitoring the movements of CJP and AISA members who have called for the gathering along the inner circle of Connaught Place. The allegations of surveillance and the police’s response come amid heightened security arrangements ahead of the proposed demonstration.
