Delhi Police on Saturday (18th July) said that the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) will not be allowed to organise its proposed march to Parliament tomorrow (20th July). According to the Delhi Police, the party has not sought permission from the police to organise the march, which coincides with the first day of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament.
The CJP, which has continued its protest at the Jantar Mantar even after activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on a hunger strike for nearly 20 days, was taken to the Safdarjung hospital by the police after his health deteriorated. The Chalo Sansad march was announced by Wangchuk, who had urged people to join the march in large numbers.
According to the Delhi Police, the CJP has not sought permission from the police to organise the march. Even the ongoing CJP protest at the Jantar Mantar was described as ‘illegal’ by the Delhi Police, as the party did not seek permission for that either. Delhi Police have intensified security across the national capital in view of the Monsoon Session and the CJP’s call for the march. Even if the party now approaches the Delhi Police seeking permission for the march, it is unlikely that the permission will be granted due to heightened security in the area.
The police have deployed over 100 personnel, along with Rapid Action Force units, on both sides of the Jantar Mantar site and inside the protest area. Additional units and paramilitary forces would reportedly be called in for the march, and extra police vans have been placed around the site.
Besides, the police have set up intensive vehicle checks and barricaded the entry points into the New Delhi district, converting the area into high-security zones. Senior Delhi Police officials reportedly said the police will stop the march, as it would otherwise disrupt law and order in the high-security zone, endanger public safety, and choke traffic in central Delhi. They added that the police can even resort to detentions if a large gathering pushes toward Parliament.
The CJP protests, which started on the pretext of raising the NEET paper leak issue and students’ concerns, have turned out to be a propaganda protest for fulfilling the political ambitions of the CJP. The party, which failed to garner much public support, has been trying to ignite public emotion and blackmail the government using Sonam Wangchuk’s fast unto death. However, despite making its best efforts to attract and mobilise people in its favour and the open support by the Left and the anti-national forces, the party’s grand show seems to be coming to an abrupt end.
