Because of differences in their objectives, but backed the group’s right to protest, former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamala i on Friday said his organisation, We The Leaders, does not support the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
Annamalai’s remarks come amid a row over the Delhi Police’s handling of CJP’s protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Rank a were detained by the Delhi Police and spent seven days in custody following an order by a special executive magistrate’s court.
Speaking to reporters in Chennai earlier this week, the former BJP leader criticised the police for detaining protesters, arguing that the action could strengthen the group’s leadership rather than weaken it.
However, if you ask whether the CJP party has the right to protest in India, yes, it does,” he said at an event on Thursday. “As I mentioned yesterday, I might not agree with the tactics of the CJP, and I think many of theirs are misguided. “If you ask whether our ‘We The Leaders’ will support the CJP party, we will never do so.
Because our goal is different, and their goal is different. But if you ask me whether they have a right to oppose/argue/protest on an issue that they think is important, I would categorically say — YES,” he said in a post on X on October 21.
Annamalai had earlier described CJP’s protest tactics as “misguided”, while asserting that the group had the right to oppose issues it considered important.
