CJP Leaders Detained in Guwahati Ahead of First Regional Volunteers' Meet
CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka and other leaders were detained in Guwahati before the party's first regional volunteers' meeting in the city.
Several leaders and volunteers of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), including national spokesperson and co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka and East and Northeast zone in-charge Ankit Bhardwaj, were detained by Guwahati Police ahead of the party's first regional volunteers' meeting in the city.
The party said Ranka and members of its central team were in Guwahati for the programme, part of its ongoing outreach in Assam and the Northeast. According to the CJP, the detentions took place before the meeting could be held, and it alleged that the venue had been changed following pressure.
At least four national-level leaders were in Assam for the programme, including Bhardwaj, Akash Prem, Varun Agrawal and Anam. Ranka arrived in Guwahati on Saturday.
The party had planned meetings with local volunteers, visits to schools and interactions with families on issues related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Speaking to the media before his detention, Ranka targeted Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and alleged that the state government was trying to stop the CJP's activities. "Himanta Biswa Sarma is scared of the way trucks were rammed into people in Assam and hundreds of people lost their lives. But we are not afraid of Himanta Biswa Sarma," he said.
Ranka also alleged manipulation during the previous Assembly election, claiming that constituency boundaries were sealed and that residents of one village voted across three different constituencies.
On Saturday, Ranka had said the CJP was drawing support in Assam and other parts of the Northeast. "The Cockroach Janata Party movement is spreading across the country, and we have received tremendous support in the Northeast, especially in Assam," he had said, adding that members from Assam had been part of the movement at Jantar Mantar from its early days.
He said the party would visit schools and meet families to discuss issues related to the education system, besides meeting local volunteers who had been working in the region for months.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke criticised the reported detentions and questioned the Assam government over the police action. There was no official statement from Guwahati Police on Sunday on the number of people detained or the reasons for the detentions.