Amid the criticism over Delhi Police’s crackdown on Cockroach Janata Party’s protest and forceful removal of activist Sonam Wangchuk, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday hit back, saying the Opposition only wanted to secure political mileage from the agitation.
In a social media post on X, BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya said that those questioning the removal of Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar were nowhere to be seen when he was being shifted to hospital.
“When the authorities intervened, many of those who had turned his fast into a political spectacle were nowhere to be seen. They were absent when it mattered most,” Malviya said.
The BJP leader asserted that the Opposition never had a constructive vision for this protest. “Their objective was not a resolution, but the perpetuation of a crisis for political mileage. That opportunity has now been denied.”
Another BJP leader, Tajinder Bagga claimed that the police crackdown on Jantar Mantar has completely exposed the BJP.
Bagga claimed that when Delhi Police reached Jantar Mantar to shift engineer Sonam Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital, not a single Cockroach Janta Party leader was present there.
“No Dipke. No Nachaniya. No spokesperson. All of them were comfortably sleeping in five-star hotels. Now CJP is claiming that they had gone to freshen up and take a bath,” the BJP leader said.
Wangchuk shifted to Safdarjung Hospital
Tensions escalated at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar during the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) ongoing protest against Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over frequent incidents of alleged paper leaks and suicides of NEET students following the forceful removal of activist Sonam Wangchuk.
Wangchuk, who joined the CJP protest on June 20, had been sitting on an indefinite hunger strike demanding Pradhan’s resignation for the past 20 days.
With his health deteriorating, Delhi police shifted the activist to Safdarjung Hospital, citing a Delhi High Court order that directed authorities to monitor Wangchuk’s health and take necessary steps to protect his life.
Congress accuses govt of denying citizens their democratic rights
The move prompted a strong reaction from the Opposition, with senior Congress leader Pawan Khera accusing the Union Home Ministry of denying citizens their constitutional right to dissent.
“Our Constitution guarantees the right to dissent. The Home Ministry appears determined to deny it. The Delhi Police reports directly to the Home Ministry – the very Ministry that appointed a new Police Commissioner in Delhi just yesterday. If today’s crackdown is his first brief, it sends a chilling message: political obedience takes precedence over Constitutional duty,” said Khera, who visited Jantar Mantar and met Wangchuk on Friday.
Khera accused the central government of usurping the fundamental democratic rights of the people in the name of maintaining law-and-order.
“Today’s actions lay bare this government’s mindset: peaceful protest is not a fundamental democratic right to be protected, but a law-and-order problem to be crushed,” he added.
Dipke sits on indefinite hunger strike
Meanwhile, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has announced that he is beginning an indefinite hunger strike in protest against the police crackdown.
The CJP founder also stated that the planned July 20 Parliament March will proceed as per the schedule.