NEW DELHI: Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh on Wednesday warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi against targeting young protesters after Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) activists Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were sent to five days of judicial custody following their detention in an attempt to breach Jantar Mantar.In a post on X, Sanjay accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of opposing the national flag. He questioned the action against the CJP activists for allegedly hoisting the Tricolour and raising slogans at the protest site.“Modi-ji, are you British? Is there British rule in India? I know that you people hate the Tricolour; you did not hoist the Tricolour at the RSS headquarters for 52 years. You sent CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das to jail for hoisting the Tricolour and chanting “Bharat Mata Ki Jai,” he said.Warning the Prime Minister over the activists’ judicial custody, Sanjay added, “Do not mess with the youth, Modi-ji; they will soon put an end to your dictatorship.”CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also criticised PM Modi, calling the action against the activists “cowardly tactics”.In a post on X, Dipke said, “Ashu and Saurav have been sent to 5 days’ judicial custody. Their fault? Unfurling the tricolour at Jantar Mantar. Show some guts, Narendra Modi. If you’re so determined to crush dissent, have the courage to officially declare an Emergency instead of hiding behind these cowardly tactics.”CJP activist Ajinkya Shinde, who was also placed under preventive arrest along with Das and Ranka, alleged that the activists were detained for waving the national flag and raising slogans of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.Speaking to reporters, Shinde said, “You must know that today Ashutosh, Saurav Das, and I, along with CJP volunteers, went towards Jantar Mantar, and we just waved the Indian flag and shouted Vande Mataram. So for this, this Modi-Shah fascist government has sent Saurav Das and Ashutosh to jail for 5 days,” he said.
The Delhi Police detained all three CJP activists on Tuesday for allegedly trespassing at Jantar Mantar while attempting to enter the site. The action came a day after authorities de-notified Jantar Mantar as a designated protest location. Police sources said a case had been registered in connection with the incident.Earlier, CJP legal head Ratna Singh alleged that the activists had been denied access to their lawyers for several hours and were not initially informed of the grounds for their detention. She also said the activists were likely to be produced before the relevant magistrate.The developments come amid an ongoing agitation by the CJP and Opposition parties against CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.