Published Oct 14, 2026 | 12:22 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 14, 2026 | 12:22 PM
Ranka and Das were sent to five days of judicial custody, while CJP leader Ajinkya Shinde was released on a personal bond.
Synopsis: Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday expressed solidarity with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), hours after its leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were sent to five days of judicial custody for entering Jantar Mantar and waving the Tricolour. Gandhi reaffirmed that protests organised by the Congress, the CJP and other groups were part of the same movement to defend the Constitution, and said the movement would reclaim Jantar Mantar. DMK president M K Stalin also expressed solidarity with the CJP and offered legal assistance, while AAP founder Arvind Kejriwal termed the jailing “ridiculous”.
In a first, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, 14 October expressed solidarity with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), hours after its leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were remanded to five days of judicial custody for entering Jantar Mantar and waving the Tricolour.
Gandhi said the detention of youth for peacefully waving the national flag was an act of cowardice and declared that protests under different banners were part of a common movement to defend 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,” he wrote on X.
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
Ranka and Das were sent to five days of judicial custody, while CJP leader Ajinkya Shinde was released on a personal bond, the party’s head of legal affairs, Ratna Singh, said on Wednesday. The three were detained on Tuesday while attempting to “reclaim” Jantar Mantar, a day after the Delhi Police withdrew the venue’s designation as a site for protests and demonstrations.
The police booked them on charges including trespass, violation of bonds and obstruction of public servants in the discharge of their duties, Ms Singh had said. They were produced before the SCM Court on Wednesday morning.
Gandhi’s expression of solidarity with the CJP comes despite its leadership having stayed away from the Congress thus far. Apart from CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, who condemned Gandhi’s detention during an attempt to reach the Election Commission office earlier this month, the party has implicitly sought to distinguish its agitation from the Congress’s.
Moreover, during the initial days of the CJP’s founding in May, many in the Congress camp viewed it with distrust and claimed it was a ‘B-team’ of the BJP. Others have alleged that it is provided with tacit support from the Aam Aadmi Party.
Days earlier, Gandhi had refused to distinguish between protests organised by the Congress and those organised by the CJP with the support of Left organisations, declaring that all protests were part of “one movement”.
“There are no parallel protests. They are all part of the same movement. We do not care who you are or which organisation or group you come from. If you are defending the Constitution, as we are, we stand with you. We will support you, help you, and protect you. And we expect the same from you,” Gandhi had said at a press conference ahead of the Congress’s Delhi Chalo march.
Also Read: ‘Trashed brutally and slapped’: Detained protestors recall Delhi Police’s brutality
The detention of Ranka and Das also drew condemnation and expressions of solidarity from DMK president M K Stalin and AAP founder Arvind Kejriwal.
Stalin condemned the detentions and offered legal assistance to the CJP leaders.
“How many protestors can this government detain? How many young voices can the BJP silence? The more young people they jail, the more ordinary citizens, with no political affiliation, will take to the streets and show them the true power of the people! Solidarity with Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Dassss! The DMK stands ready to provide them with all necessary legal representation and support,” he wrote on X.
Is waving our own flag in our own country a crime? This is absolutely ridiculous
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 14, 2026
Kejriwal called the action “ridiculous”.
“Is waving our own flag in our own country a crime? This is absolutely ridiculous,” he wrote on X.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
