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‘Is something already being planned’: CJP’s Dipke flags Maharashtra Police notices ahead of protest
Abhijeet Dipke questioned the police warning, asking how they could make such a claim and if anything was being planned to disrupt the peaceful protest.
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Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday alleged that the Maharashtra Police was attempting to stop his party workers from attending its planned protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi next week, claiming that workers were issued notices and questioned about funds for their travel.
The alleged clampdown on the workers came after the CJP announced a fresh agitation at Jantar Mantar from October 10 to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and what the Opposition parties have termed “vote chori”.
“I have said multiple times that the Maharashtra Police is the best police force in the country and that the Delhi Police should learn from them. But it is heartbreaking that the Chandrapur police served notices to CJP workers, asking them not to participate in the protest at Jantar Mantar. They also asked CJP workers about the source of funds for travelling to Jantar Mantar,” Dipke said at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar on Tuesday.
Dipke shared copies of two such notices issued by the Chandrapur police to CJP workers from the district.
In one of the notices issued to Mayur Malkhede, the Ballarpur police said, “You should participate in the New Delhi protest without permission. Do not take along violent protestors for the protest, and do not make violent posts on social media platforms or make provocative speeches… Upon violating the formal notice you will have to face preventive or criminal action.”
Dipke also questioned the police’s reference to the possibility of violence in the notices. “In the notice, the police stated that the agitation is going to be violent. How do the police know in advance that the agitation would be violent? Have they planned anything in advance?” he asked.
Calling the police action a form of “dictatorship”, Dipke accused chief minister Devendra Fadnavis of potentially “misusing” the police for political ambitions.
“Why is the Maharashtra Police behaving like the Delhi Police? What do they have to do if a person is going to Delhi from Chandrapur?” he asked.
Targeting Fadnavis, the CJP founder questioned why the chief minister was allegedly trying to emulate Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
“Why is Devendra Fadnavis trying to be UP CM Yogi Adityanath 2.0? He should know about the legacy of Maharashtra. He should not disrespect and misuse the Maharashtra Police for political ambitions. Instead of harassing our workers, they should arrest me. If they want, they should put me behind bars and charge me under UAPA [Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act] or NSA (National Security Act). They should not harass our workers,” he said.
