Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Oct 17: The Communist Party of India (CPI) has expressed strong displeasure with the Janata Dal (United) over its alleged complaint against Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leaders for entering Jantar Mantar, which was recently denotified as a designated protest site.
CPI national secretary and Rajya Sabha MP P Sandosh Kumar wrote to JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, expressing his “shock” over the complaint against the CJP activists, who entered Jantar Mantar on October 12 while waving the national flag to protest against the denotification of the designated protest venue.
Recalling Jantar Mantar’s historic significance as a platform for students, youth, farmers, women, trade unions and political parties to hold governments accountable, Sandosh Kumar said the JD(U)’s alleged action was deeply disturbing.
“While the Delhi Police, under Home Minister Amit Shah, has unleashed a brutal crackdown to suppress the growing movement against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, the report that it was your party, the JD(U), that filed the trespass complaint against CJP activists is shocking,” he wrote.
Referring to the historical significance of 7, Jantar Mantar Road, which housed the united Indian National Congress headquarters from 1947 to 1969 and has been associated with the JD(U) for decades, the CPI leader said the complaint raised serious questions about the party’s democratic credentials.
Sandosh Kumar also condemned the alleged crackdown on peaceful protesters, the reported beating of students, the attack on a Rajya Sabha MP and the cancellation of trains to Delhi, which he said were intended to curb the movement.
He alleged that these actions reflected an attempt to silence dissent and undermine democratic institutions as the movement demanding accountability from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar gained momentum.
Appealing to Nitish Kumar to remember his roots in the student movement of the 1970s, Sandosh Kumar urged him to uphold the democratic principles that had shaped his political journey.
“I urge you to direct the JD(U) to withdraw its complaint against the CJP leaders and stand firmly against the criminalisation of peaceful protest. I also urge you to reconsider your political alignment with the BJP, whose actions are systematically undermining our Constitution,” he wrote.
The CPI leader stressed the need for political courage and principled solidarity with those fighting to protect democracy and constitutional freedoms.