Is waving the Tiranga [‘tricolour’/national flag] a crime?

Opposition leaders, including West Bengal’s former chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu’s MK Stalin and AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal, on Friday came out in support of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and AISA chief Neha Bora after the two youth leaders were detained over the latest round of protests against alleged electoral fraud. Dipke was picked up from his Delhi residence before he could head to Connaught Place, where a ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ flag-hoisting event was planned, while Neha Bora was headed to Jantar Mantar, which was last week denotified as a protest site, and was also part of the wider demonstration.

DMK chief MK Stalin, a former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, questioned where the two were being held. “The Union Government must release them immediately and stop suppressing peaceful protests. “Is waving the Tiranga [‘tricolour’/national flag] a crime? “We have detained Dipke and Bora. The situation is very peaceful. Some protesters have reached Connaught Place and will be removed soon. It directed him to refrain from any action that could prejudice the rights of citizens, traders, commuters, patients and others.

Earlier in the day, more than 20 Delhi Police personnel had visited Dipke’s home and served him a notice.

“Detaining them without disclosing their whereabouts is blatantly illegal and deeply inhumane,” he posted on X. Every attempt to crush the movement will only make it stronger,” Stalin added, demanding that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar “must go” . Arvind Kejriwal called the central government and police’s action “sheer dictatorship”. Abhijeet’s arrest shows how scared Modi ji is of them,” the AAP chief said, taking aim at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP has said the protests are “attempts at creating anarchy”, dismissing the poll fraud charges as Congress’s “inability to accept defeat”. “Their intention is not to save democracy, but to act on the signals of their foreign masters,” BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said. “Spreading anarchy in the country and attempting to break the nation, that is precisely their aim,” he further alleged. Our main objective is to maintain law and order and ensure smooth traffic movement,” a senior police officer said, according to PTI. Another officer said: “Those attempting to disrupt law and order are being detained. It said prohibitory orders were in force around Connaught Place and that the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) had not permitted the proposed Tiranga Yatra.