Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) Co-convenor Saurav Das. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
Opposition parties and youth groups strongly condemned the Centre’s decision on Monday (October 12, 2026) to de-notify Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site in New Delhi. This comes as youth organisations have been trying to seek permission to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar demanding rollback of the special intensive revision (SIR) and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
Anti-CEC protests: October 12, 2026
Hours before Jantar Mantar was de-notified as a designated protest site as per a standing order by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders comprising co-convenor Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka submitted a letter to Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi district seeking a date and time to hold a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar within 24 hours.
“CJP will also announce a new date for the mass protest if you fail to respond and allocate us the designated protest site Jantar Mantar,” the group said in the letter.
Reacting to the Centre’s decision, the youth group’s leadership called it “unacceptable” and warned that the “entire country will become Jantar Mantar”.
Mr. Das said, “Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India. Did the Ministry of Home Affairs consult with the people of India? CJP does not accept this arbitrary decision as it is an assault on people’s fundamental right to protest and peaceful assembly.”
Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said: “The Prime Minister will soon de-notify democracy in India. This move is a step towards that.”
CJP’s founder Abhijeet Dipke said, “If Modi thinks taking away Jantar Mantar will put an end to protests, he is mistaken. Jantar Mantar is not just a location but a spirit of resistance that nobody can ever take away.”
‘Sign of extreme panic’
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh called the decision a sign of “extreme panic” that has gripped the government. “It is a definite sign of the extreme panic that has gripped the PM-HM duo that the historic Jantar Mantar will no longer be a place where our democracy is given a daily booster dose. Democracy no longer matters for them,” he posted on X.
Samajwadi Party president and MP Akhilesh Yadav also criticised the decision calling it the “biggest defeat” of the BJP government.
“The BJP is gripped with fear. To avoid public outrage, it wants to keep the people away from the places where the rulers sit. It would have been better if, for the welfare of the people in a democracy, a spot on ‘Lok Kalyan Marg’ itself had been allotted for protests. This would also provide a justification to prove the naming right,” he said in a post on X.
Published – October 12, 2026 03:04 pm IST
