New Delhi: The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) on Monday made clear that its demand to withdraw cases against protesters is not a shield for everyone, drawing a sharp line between peaceful demonstrators and those it described as hooligans, who it said were never part of its protests.
The clarification came at a press conference when Times Now Digital asked the party whether it would also extend legal cover to people if they were found to have indulged in vandalism, and if investigations established that some protesters had assaulted police personnel first. Ratna, a lawyer representing the CJP, said violence had never been part of the party’s plan.
“We have also said that assaults were not a part of our protest,” she said.
Pressed on how the party could be certain of that, said protesters had been repeatedly told to stay within the law. “We have been saying so… to our protesters as well, that if you are doing something which is against the law, then you’re not part of this protest,” she said.
She was equally clear that the party was not asking for blanket protection for everyone detained. The relief, she said, was meant only for those who did nothing wrong and were still caught up in police action. “We want all cases where protesters have not done anything and they have been assaulted… those protesters to be safe,” she said.
Ratna also drew a firm boundary around anyone accused of vandalism, distancing the party from those it did not consider genuine demonstrators. “Those protesters who are trying to do hooliganism and are calling themselves protesters, I think we don’t relate to them,” she said.
The party did, however, want protection extended to those who were “defending” themselves against police action, meaning some clashes, in the CJP’s view, should be read as self-defence rather than aggression.
The distinction the CJP is drawing – legal cover for the peaceful and the self-defending, but not for alleged vandals – comes as Delhi Police push a very different account of what happened on the ground. Times Now accessed CCTV footage via Delhi Police sources of the protest in central Delhi, which allegedly shows sections of the crowd breaking through barricades, pelting stones, using pepper spray, overturning vehicles and assaulting officers. Police sources say the visuals are now with the Crime Branch as part of an ongoing probe to identify those involved.
Meanwhile, CJP’s Ashutosh Ranka accused the government of breaking an understanding that protesters would not face cases. “We are observing a complete breach of the agreement regarding no police action against the protestors,” he wrote on X, alleging that students had been arrested in Bihar and Bengal and that volunteers had been detained in Delhi.
The party has warned it will protest again and file its own FIR against Delhi Police if the cases are not withdrawn.
Alongside the demand to withdraw cases, the CJP has moved to build a legal safety net for those it says were wrongly targeted. Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal announced at the same press conference that he would personally contribute Rs 1 crore towards a legal defence fund – the SAAKSHI fund – for protesters, adding that it would also be opened to public contributions.
“I will give Rs 1 crore for this,” Sibal said, stressing that the money would be used solely for protesters’ legal protection. “This fund and every rupee collected will only be used for the protection of protesters. How it will be used is CJP’s responsibility,” he said.