Opposition and CJP push to reopen Jantar Mantar following activist detentions

Arrests And Custody

Three members of the Cockroach Janata Party faced police action after scaling barriers to enter Jantar Mantar in Delhi, which was recently stripped of its status as an official agitation venue. Special executive magistrate Mahesh Kumar Meena ordered Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka into five days of judicial custody for allegedly violating peace bonds and trespassing through private property. A third member, Ajinkya Shinde, secured release upon furnishing a personal bond along with a surety of five thousand rupees. The arrests stem from an incident where three activists bypassed barricades to hoist the national flag while raising slogans against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Protests And Political Fallout

The police action sparked sharp condemnation from the broader Opposition and fresh demonstrations across the Capital. Indian Youth Congress workers marched toward the site before police intervened and detained several protesters near Parliament Street. Similar protest marches by the Students Federation of India and the Democratic Youth Federation of India faced police barricades. Lok Sabha opposition leader Rahul Gandhi criticized the arrests on social media, calling the peaceful waving of the national flag a fundamental right and vowing to reclaim the historic protest venue. Meanwhile, ruling party representatives defended the restrictions, arguing that public areas cannot serve as political battlegrounds.

Context

Jantar Mantar served as the Capital's primary public demonstration ground for over three decades before authorities recently banned gatherings there and designated alternative locations like Ramlila Ground. The current wave of unrest is tied to intense public anger over a massive special intensive revision of electoral rolls that removed millions of names.