Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) top leadership including Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, Mehr, Ratna Singh, and Ashutosh Ranka on Saturday were detained by Delhi Police in an effort to nip the Jantar Mantar protest in the bud.
The AAP, meanwhile, alleged that Delhi Police turned Kejriwal's residence into a fortress ahead of the Cockroach Janta Party's protest at Jantar Mantar. Their office establishments were being sealed to prevent cadres from assembling, pro-AAP handles claimed on social media.
Meanwhile, former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, former Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal, and Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas were among the CPI(M) leaders who were detained in the national capital.
FULL STORY | From Pinarayi Vijayan to Brinda Karat, top Left leaders detained near Jantar Mantar
Party general secretary M.A. Baby and prominent leaders Brinda Karat and K.K. Shailaja were all stopped by the Delhi Police as most of the party's central committee members hit the streets in support of the movement.
The development has kicked up a political storm in Kerala as Left supporters pointed out that Rahul Gandhi was absent from the frontlines of the agitation. They asked if the Leader of the Opposition was scared to lead tough protests even when senior leaders like Pinarayi Vijayan were willing to face the consequences of throwing their weight behind the CJP.
Why is Rahul Gandhi not participating in the protests?
Rahul Gandhi is not in Delhi because he has travelled to Chennai for an interaction with students (Chhatron Ki Goonj) and a lunch meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay. According to TNCC chief Manickam Tagore, about 10,000 to 20,000 students who registered and received the QR code alone will participate in the event.
After his arrival, Gandhi is scheduled to travel to a star hotel in Guindy and later proceed for the crucial luncheon meeting with the Chief Minister at around 1:30 pm. This marks the first meeting between the two leaders after the Secular Social Justice Victory Alliance was formed. TVK, Congress, and VCK are part of the alliance.
Following this, Gandhi will travel to the Island Grounds here for the "Maanavargalin Kural" (Chhatron Ki Goonj) interaction.
The city is under an exceptionally dense five-tier security blanket comprising 15,000 police personnel led by Chennai Police Commissioner A. Amalraj, and the heightened city-wide protocol directly reinforces the security presence surrounding the Island Grounds—the venue of the interaction—and VVIP transit routes today.
Following the evening engagement, Gandhi is slated to depart from Island Grounds for Chennai Airport at around 8:30 pm to catch the 9:40 pm return flight to New Delhi.
