Dhruv Rathee Detained Ahead of Jantar Mantar Protest in Delhi

Synopsis

The Delhi police had arrested YouTuber Dhruv Rathee from his residence in Gurugram on Saturday, mere hours before he was refused permission to hold a demonstration at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, as part of the Cockroach Janta Party. The protest calls for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on the issue of electoral role revision with Election Commission and Government denying any manipulation. Two days before, Rathee spoke at an event similar to this in Bengaluru. Authorities deployed thousands of people throughout the capital and reportedly hundreds of people were detained.

A morning detention in Gurugram

Police personnel reportedly comprised around 50 personnel reached Rathee's Sector 56 residence and detained him around 7.48 am for which he was scheduled to join the protest later in the day. He has been placed in preventive custody, he was not following the instructions given by outside officials, said Gujarat Samachar, citing officials.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has responded to the alleged government arrests of young people, declaring in a tweet: “The Dictator is TERRIFIED” of the young people who question the government. The police have not been quoted on the record in the reports seen.

Why the protest at Jantar Mantar is significant?

Founded by Abhijeet Dipke, the CJP gained popularity as chief justice of India likened the unemployed and online activists to “cockroaches”, in a protest over exam paper leaks. It is calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The protesters say that the commission had tampered with the voters lists in favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, while the commission and government say otherwise.

The pressure escalated when it was reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on "at least" 14 times in the last ten months. Dipke has said, “We won’t step back till the time Gyanesh Kumar resigns.”

The role of Rathee and the security response

Rathee spoke at an anti-SIR (Special Intensive Revision) protest in Bengaluru on Thursday. He said that he had come with a personal complaint against the party and had mentioned the alleged deletion of 65 lakh names in Bihar.

What to watch

The next phase will depend on whether Rathee is formally arrested or released and if CJP's Delhi mobilisation goes on. The CJP has stated that their campaign will continue till Kumar's resignation.