After weeks of distance, Rahul Gandhi publicly stands with CJP, says 'Waving tricolour is not a crime'
PTC Web Desk: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has openly backed the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) for the first time, criticising the arrest of its leaders after a protest at Jantar Mantar. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke thanked him soon after.
A court on Wednesday morning sent CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das to five days of judicial custody. They were held for entering Jantar Mantar after the Centre withdrew its status as an approved protest site.
Cockroaches with the Tiranga sneaked into Jantar Mantar early this morning before they were picked up by Delhi Police.
@AshutoshRanka, @SauravDassss, @AjinkyaCJP along with other team members have been detained.
You cannot denotify the resistance, @narendramodi https://t.co/x7B40akCVO
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) October 13, 2026
Reacting on X, Rahul Gandhi said raising the national flag in a peaceful protest cannot be treated as a crime and that jailing young people for it shows fear, not strength. He also described the ongoing demonstrations by students, journalists, civil society groups and the INDIA bloc as one movement under different banners, all demanding constitutional rights.
Waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar in a peaceful protest is not a crime. Jailing youth for it is an act of cowardice.
Students. Youth. Journalists. The INDIA bloc. Different banners, one cause. All protests are one: citizens demanding their constitutional rights.
Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India. We will reclaim it.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 14, 2026
Rahul Gandhi also signalled that the Congress will take up the Centre’s decision on Jantar Mantar. “Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India. We will reclaim it,” he wrote.
Thank you, LoP @RahulGandhi sir, for speaking out against the illegal arrest of @AshutoshRanka & @SauravDassss
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) October 14, 2026
Questions over Congress’s distance from CJP
The statement comes at a time when the Congress has faced questions about keeping its distance from the CJP. Rahul Gandhi had earlier avoided sharing a stage with the group’s leaders in July and again during the current round of protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
In an apparent attempt to counter that impression, Rahul Gandhi walked with AISA leader Neha Bora alongside Priyanka Gandhi during Monday’s march in Delhi. Bora was also invited to his tea gathering on Tuesday, along with several other civil society groups. The CJP did not receive an invitation. Wednesday’s post is being read as a shift in the Congress leader’s approach.
What happened at Jantar Mantar
On Tuesday morning, 14 persons, including CJP leaders, were detained after they climbed a gate and barricades to get inside Jantar Mantar. They waved the tricolour and shouted slogans before the police took them away. They were booked for trespassing and for breaching their bail conditions.
Dipke, Ranka and Das had been released on bail a day earlier, after being detained at the airport on landing in Delhi to lead the October 10 protest. As part of that bail, they had given a bond to maintain peace for a year. The police claim Tuesday’s flash protest broke that condition.
Reacting to the custody order, Dipke said he was worried about the country and asked since when waving Tiranga had become a breach of peace.
Other opposition leaders react
Other opposition leaders also came out against the arrests. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal called the move “ridiculous” and asked whether waving the national flag in one’s own country was a crime.
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee took a sharper line, saying those who claim to be the biggest nationalists are now arresting Indians for waving the Tricolour. DMK chief MK Stalin and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray also criticised the action.
The Centre had denotified Jantar Mantar as a protest site on Monday, amid widespread demonstrations against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
Also Read | CJP's Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka arrested, sent to 5-day custody for trespassing at Jantar Mantar
Also Read | Delhi Police de-notify Jantar Mantar as protest venue, three other sites designated for demonstrations
- PTC NEWS
