The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has criticised the denotification of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site, describing the decision as a setback for peaceful assembly and democratic accountability.
The party also condemned the detention of its leaders and volunteers by Delhi Police on Tuesday morning after they entered the site carrying the national flag and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls.
According to CJP, the denotification was announced on October 12, the same day its representatives approached Parliament Street Police Station to submit a letter seeking a date and time for their proposed peaceful demonstration at Jantar Mantar.
The party said it had left the scheduling of the protest to the police and sought a response within 24 hours. However, the subsequent decision to remove Jantar Mantar from the list of designated protest venues raised concerns within the organisation about access to public spaces for peaceful demonstrations.
On Tuesday morning, CJP co-convenors Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, National Organisation In-charge Ajinkya Shinde and other party members entered the site before being detained by Delhi Police.
Reacting to the decision, CJP Founder and National Convenor Abhijeet Dipke said the removal of the venue's designated status would not stop the movement.
“You cannot denotify the resistance. If the government believes that removing Jantar Mantar from the list of designated protest sites will silence people demanding accountability, it has misunderstood what this movement stands for. Jantar Mantar is not merely a location on a map. It is where citizens have gathered to question those in power, and no administrative order can erase that democratic impulse,” Dipke said.
Jantar Mantar has hosted public demonstrations for decades, including campaigns for transparency and anti-corruption, veterans' demands for One Rank One Pension, protests by women wrestlers and farmers, and student-led agitations.
CJP said removing the venue from the list of designated protest sites could reduce the visibility of public dissent by shifting demonstrations away from the centre of the national capital.
Co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka questioned the timing of the decision, saying the party had approached the police to seek permission and schedule its proposed demonstration.
“You cannot ask citizens to approach the authorities for permission to protest and then change the rules while they are seeking that permission. We went to the police station to ask for a date for our demonstration. Our demand was clear: tell us when we can hold a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar. Instead, the site was denotified. We will not accept a system in which the right to protest becomes meaningless in practice,” Ranka said.
The party said the issue extended beyond its demand for Gyanesh Kumar's resignation, arguing that it also concerned citizens' ability to publicly question those in power at a venue where their demands could be seen and heard.
CJP maintained that alternative venues could not automatically replace Jantar Mantar's historical and civic significance, particularly for demonstrations concerning public institutions and electoral accountability.
Reiterating its position, the party said its demand for Gyanesh Kumar's resignation remained unchanged and that it would continue to challenge the denotification of Jantar Mantar. It added that it would continue to pursue electoral accountability and peaceful democratic action despite the change in the site's status.