Leaders Held Before Reaching the Site
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained on landing at Delhi airport. NCP (SP) spokesperson Anish Gawande, who was on the same flight, said officers boarded the aircraft to take them away. Police confirmed the detentions, but the leaders’ whereabouts remained undisclosed. In a video recorded the night before, Dipke named organisation in-charge Ajinkya Shinde to lead the stir in their absence.
Others were stopped too. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained in Gurugram, and CJP legal head Ratna Singh has moved the Saket court seeking an FIR over her detention.
Opposition Leaders Swept Up
Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was detained during a dharna near South Avenue along with five TMC MPs, including Derek O’Brien and Saket Gokhale. Former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and senior CPI(M) leaders, including MA Baby and Brinda Karat, were held on arriving at Jantar Mantar. AISA president Neha Bora was also detained. AAP said Manish Sisodia was held in Chandigarh, and Tushar Gandhi was detained in Mumbai.
Opposition leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Shashi Tharoor and Supriya Sule, condemned the action, with several comparing it to the Emergency. The BJP dismissed the protest as a “flop show” by anarchist forces. Its spokesperson Sambit Patra said democracy had triumphed over mob rule.
A City Turned Fortress
More than 40,000 police and paramilitary personnel were deployed, backed by barricades, spike strips and drone surveillance. Over 1,000 people were reportedly detained overnight, including more than 60 who had sheltered at Bangla Sahib Gurdwara. Reports said over 250 trains were cancelled, markets near the protest site stayed shut, and central Delhi was gridlocked with heavy traffic.
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