has urged (CJP) founder to call off his proposed ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march to Central Park in Connaught Place, citing prohibitory orders in force in the New Delhi area.
The police said it plans to block all entry points to Central Park ahead of the proposed rally while allowing vehicular and pedestrian movement in Connaught Place’s inner and outer circles.
A police team also visited Dipke’s place of stay to verbally inform him about prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The team urged him to call off the march and maintain peace and law and order.
The police team left after serving a notice to Dipke and obtaining his acknowledgement, a police officer said.
CJP livestreamed a tense exchange between Dipke and Delhi Police personnel, during which he questioned why unfolding the national flag would be considered unlawful.
“We are not putting any speaker, we have not said it is a protest, we are just saying we will unfold the Tricolour, is that now allowed?” Dipke could be heard asking a police officer.
Referring to the communication in the notice, Dipke further asked, “Is Tiranga unlawful?” The officer responded, “it is country’s pride”.
Dipke announced the proposed march to Central Park on Wednesday amid a standoff with authorities over the arrest of two CJP spokespersons, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, for trespassing at Jantar Mantar.
Delhi Police detained Das and Ranka on Tuesday morning after they entered Jantar Mantar by jumping over its locked gates. This came a day after the site lost its designated protest venue status.
Das and Ranka were sent to five-day judicial custody on Wednesday. Dipke, who arrived in Delhi from Maharashtra that day, subsequently announced the planned march to Central Park.
The proposed rally was intended to protest the allegations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and serve as a symbolic stand against the removal of Jantar Mantar’s status as a designated protest site.
Delhi Police had planned to deploy more than 6,000 personnel in and around Connaught Place and central Delhi on Friday ahead of the proposed ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march.
Officials said a “select few people” could be allowed to conduct a march at a “suitable place”.
The local police deployment would be in addition to around 26,000 personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) stationed in the national capital over the preceding week following CJP’s call for protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Together, around 32,000 security personnel were expected to be deployed across central Delhi on Friday, an earlier HT report quoted people familiar with the matter as saying.
During the 10 October protest, Delhi Police had deployed around 5,000 personnel in the New Delhi district. The deployment covered Connaught Place, Rajiv Chowk, Central Park, nearby metro stations, Jantar Mantar and Palika Bazaar.
