Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed across Delhi ahead of the protest called for by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Saturday, demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged SIR irregularities.
The CJP is gearing up for a massive protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday. Responding to the crackdown, CJP leaders claimed the Narendra Modi government was "afraid of Gen Z" and resorted to imposing an "Emergency" in the capital. "Shut down the entire country if you are so scared of the youth," Dipke said.
"I feel like laughing (at the government's move). Delhi is not a private property of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. On one hand, you say protests lead to inconvenience. On the other hand, you have shut down the Metro (stations), railways and blocked roads. Will this not lead to inconvenience?" he asked.
From 10 pm on Friday, internet will be suspended around a radius of 4 km from the Janpath-Kartavya Path crossing for 24 hours. In this regard, the Delhi Deputy Police Commissioner has issued directions to telcos, including Airtel, Jio, Vodafone-Idea and BSNL subsidiary MTNL.
At least 38 long-distance trains, including Mail and Express, coming into Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations were also cancelled on Friday. The DMRC has closed 57 metro stations, including Hauz Khas, INA, Kashmere Gate, Rajiv Chowk, Inderlok, New Delhi, Central Secretariat, Mandi House and Patel Chowk, from Friday night.
CJP spokesperson Saurav Das compared the situation in the country to Emergency, alleging that party volunteers were being detained in BJP-ruled states while some were put under house arrest.
"Let's not be under any illusion. Emergency has been imposed in the country and Delhi has turned into a fortress," Das told reporters.
Earlier, CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said in an X post that at least 10,000 people have been detained across India. He said Jantar Mantar is a designated protest site, pointing out that the denial of permission to protest has become the main issue currently while the demand for CEC's resignation has turned secondary.
This comes after the Supreme Court directed the Centre to ensure that there is no complete prohibition of movement by Delhi Metro and trains to the capital, observing that the Centre "cannot use a hammer to kill a fly."
