Activist calls for new Delhi protest on Oct. 16 demanding flag rights
Leader Dipke urged supporters to gather at Central Park in Delhi on Oct. 16 with the national flag, after two protesters were placed in judicial custody for a Jantar Mantar demonstration.
Dipke appealed to patriots to assemble at Delhi’s Central Park on Oct. 16 at 5 p.m., carrying the Indian tricolour to demonstrate that its display should not be criminalised. The invitation came after Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were sent to five days’ judicial custody for allegedly entering private property to reach Jantar Mantar, a denotified protest site, and breaching peace-keeping bonds. Their colleague Ajinkya Shinde was released on a personal bond of Rs 5,000 and ordered to maintain good behaviour for six months.
Delhi police explained that a Special Executive Magistrate approved the detention, citing the preventive police report, the duo’s repeated offences, and concerns they might incite further violations if released on bail. In response, Dipke condemned the central government for stifling dissent and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to openly declare an emergency rather than rely on “cowardly tactics.” The upcoming rally aims to showcase mass support for flag-rights and challenge the authorities’ handling of protestors.
Why it matters
The protest highlights tensions over free expression and government response to dissent in India.
How this story developed
- Oct 8 Protests swell as India’s election commission faces allegations over voter-roll purge
- Oct 10 The Supreme Court ordered that some train services remain operational despite earlier shutdown orders.
- Oct 10 Police deployed thousands of personnel, closed 45 metro stations and detained additional opposition figures and activists.
- Oct 10 Authorities detained over 1,000 activists and arrested more than 600 people with criminal histories.
- Oct 11 Delhi imposed wide‑scale traffic diversions around key intersections as the protest entered its second day.
- Oct 11 Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Modi government of an undeclared emergency and said opposition figures will meet the Chief Justice on Monday to protest the crackdown on a youth demonstration in Delhi.
- Oct 11 CJP leaders were released after posting a ₹50,000 surety bond.
- Oct 12 Delhi Police announced that Jantar Mantar will no longer serve as a designated protest location and named three alternative grounds for demonstrations.
- Oct 12 Chief Justice Surya Kant declined the meeting request and kept his reasons confidential.
- Oct 12 Chief Justice Surya Kant declined a direct meeting and said any petition filed on Monday will be considered on Tuesday.
- Oct 12 Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and the INDIA bloc will march to the Supreme Court at 4 p.m. local time to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
- Oct 12 Authorities shut six metro stations and deployed thousands of security personnel for a third consecutive day.
- Oct 13 The Supreme Court flagged fourteen procedural defects in the opposition’s petition.
- Oct 14 CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained near Jantar Mantar after the police announced its denotification.
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