Darpan Kumar

Internal rift🥴

Message to all cockroaches

Saurav and Ashu are the leaders I look up to. I had no clue how we would take this movement forward but then these two took things into their hands and made the CJP is what it is today. I am just fortunate that I get to call these two my brothers and that I get to learn so much from them.

Ashu and Saurav’s first crime was waving the Tiranga at Jantar Mantar. Their second crime? Refusing to back down. Even after five days in jail, they walked into court with smiles on their faces, their spirits unbroken.

Businesses do not suffer because of peaceful protests. They suffer when the govt decides to shut down an entire city, suspend internet services and restrict the movement of its own citizens and turn the city into a war-zone. Since its inception, the Cockroach Janta Party has maintained that we will always follow Gandhi’s path of peace and non-violence, and we have stood by that commitment. We have organised protests in Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Nagpur, and every single one of them has been peaceful. I was personally assaulted in Jaipur, but even then, I chose not to retaliate because responding to violence with violence goes against everything we believe in. We would rather exercise the rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution, drafted under the leadership of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, than resort to physical force. Our strength comes from our commitment to constitutional values, and no amount of provocation will make us abandon them. Despite this, there are constant attempts to portray us as anarchists simply because we refuse to remain silent. But demanding answers from the govt is not anarchy, protesting against injustice on the streets is not anarchy, and questioning those who hold public office is certainly not anarchy. These are the most fundamental expressions of democracy. The very party that is in power today spent decades organising protests, taking to the streets and questioning the governments of the day when it was in opposition. Had the same restrictions, intimidation and police crackdowns been used against them, many of those who occupy positions of power today might never have reached where they are. It is deeply hypocritical to celebrate protests as a democratic right when you are in opposition and treat the same act as a threat to public order when you come to power. We are not asking for privileges or special treatment. We are simply asking to exercise the rights that belong to every citizen of this Republic, irrespective of which party is in power. So let us fulfil our duty as citizens of this country by questioning those we elect, demanding accountability and speaking up whenever we witness injustice. A govt that has been elected by the people is bound to listen to the people, not silence them. Democracy does not end once the votes have been counted.

Lehra do Tiranga 🇮🇳 16 Oct | Central Park, CP | 5 PM

The last time I remember Indians being jailed for waving the Tiranga at a public place was under colonial rule, when foreign rulers saw us as inferior and treated us as such.

Ashu and Saurav have been sent to 5 days judicial custody. Their fault? Unfurling tricolour at Jantar Mantar. Show some guts, @narendramodi. If you’re so determined to crush dissent, have the courage to officially declare an Emergency instead of hiding behind these cowardly tactics.

They have removed Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site. Yes, it’s no a longer protest site as anyway it was turned into a war zone by the coward dictator. Ab poora desh Jantar Mantar banega!