BJP president Nitin Nabin accused the Opposition of pursuing a ‘regime change’ agenda with foreign support as Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke ahead of a planned Tiranga march at Connaught Place. The fresh political confrontation followed senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan’s remarks linking protests over electoral rolls to demands for government change.
The BJP chief, in a post on X, claimed that the language used by protesters had exposed their intentions. He described an alleged attempt to destabilise India in collusion with foreign forces as part of an ‘Urban Naxals’ agenda, but did not identify any foreign group in the post.
Nabin said the Opposition’s campaign was not about election reforms, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls or young people’s future. Instead, he accused its leaders of seeking power by spreading disorder. “In a democracy, the path to power passes through the people’s mandate, not anarchy,” he said in his post.
The remarks followed comments by Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan at a press conference attended by CJP leaders and student activists on Thursday. Bhushan said the movement, which began with demands for an impartial electoral process, had become a fight for “regime change” amid police action against demonstrators.
Bhushan argued that seeking a change of government was a legitimate democratic objective. He also said opposition to the government and criticism of its conduct could not automatically be treated as a conspiracy.
Abhijeet Dipke detained before Delhi Tiranga march
Meanwhile, police detained Dipke as he left the Karol Bagh home of Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) spokesperson Anish Gawande, where he had been staying. A police officer told him that prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were in force around Connaught Place.
“I’m alone, what law did I break?” Dipke asked officers before being taken away. Police also began removing people who had assembled at Connaught Place ahead of the CJP’s planned 5 pm ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ protest.
Earlier today, police had served Dipke a notice barring the march, saying organisers had called for a public gathering without permission. The notice cited traffic congestion, potential disruption to businesses and emergency access, and previous protests that police alleged had breached public-order restrictions.
Why police blocked CJP’s Connaught Place protest
Security preparations for Friday included more than 6,000 Delhi Police personnel and 220 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces mobilised for the New Delhi area. The New Delhi Municipal Council closed Central Park on October 16 and 17, citing administrative reasons.
The Delhi High Court declined to issue an order stopping the proposed protest on Thursday, while recording the police’s assurance that the event would be regulated. Delhi Police subsequently offered to facilitate a symbolic flag-hoisting by 11 people at a suitable location, rather than permit a large gathering.
CJP’s protest against SIR and Gyanesh Kumar
The march was called after CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were sent to five days in judicial custody following their entry into Jantar Mantar, where protests had been restricted. The group is demanding their release, the restoration of Jantar Mantar as a protest venue and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Protesters allege that the SIR exercise has wrongly removed eligible voters and benefited the BJP. The Election Commission rejects accusations of political bias and says voters removed in error can seek re-enrolment.
