The iconic India Gate is out of bounds for sit-in protests and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) will not tolerate “taking away our Jantar Mantar too”, party spokesperson Saurav Das on Friday said, hours after the Delhi High Court expressed reservations against the use of Jantar Mantar as a demonstration site.
The CJP last month had spearheaded the students’ agitation at Jantar Mantar against the NEET-UG paper leak that ultimately led to the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan.
“HANDS OFF our Jantar Mantar! Before trying to take away our protest site, tell us if you will designate the India Gate where we can exercise our fundamental right to peacefully protest. You took away the India Gate. We will not tolerate taking away of OUR Jantar Mantar too!” Das said on X.
His remarks came against the backdrop of the Delhi High Court’s remarks that demonstrations at a centrally located venue like the Jantar Mantar unnecessarily “hold the entire city to ransom”.
“According to me, these things should not happen in the city, but it’s the government’s call. Law and order is the police’s department. Why should the city be put to ransom unnecessarily?,” a bench of Justice Amit Mahajan said earlier in the day.
“Personally, if you have to ask me, I have a different view. I don’t think protests should happen inside the city. Why should this happen in the city when the entire city goes into… whether it’s the ambulances or otherwise,” he added.
The judge, however, said the government must take the final call on such matters since law and order falls within the police’s domain.