Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders on Wednesday criticised the five-day judicial custody of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka for entering Jantar Mantar without authorisation, calling the action an attack on peaceful protest.
“Waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar in a peaceful protest is not a crime. Jailing youth for it is an act of cowardice,” Gandhi said on X. He said students, young people, journalists and the INDIA bloc were united in demanding constitutional rights, adding, “Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India. We will reclaim it.”
Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) posts, "Waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar in a peaceful protest is not a crime. Jailing youth for it is an act of cowardice. Students. Youth. Journalists. The INDIA bloc. Different banners, one cause. All protests are one: citizens demanding their constitutional rights. Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India. We will reclaim it."
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 14, 2026
Das and Ranka were sent to Tihar Jail for allegedly violating peace bonds signed on October 10 and breaching barricades to enter the protest site. CJP leader Ajinkya Shinde was placed under preventive arrest but released after signing a peace bond.
Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also questioned whether waving the national flag could be treated as a crime. Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee criticised the BJP, calling it a “Pakistanified Bharat” and accusing self-described nationalists of arresting citizens for waving the Tricolour.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke accused the Centre of suppressing dissent and challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare an Emergency officially rather than use what he called cowardly tactics.
Speaking in Nagpur, Dipke said detaining people for five days for waving the national flag was unprecedented, even during the 1975 Emergency.
The action follows protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Delhi Police recently denotified Jantar Mantar as a designated protest venue and identified three alternative locations.
