Dipke rejects Nepal and Bangladesh comparisons, calls jailed CJP leaders' stand a satyagraha

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday rejected comparisons between India’s youth protests and the unrest in Nepal, Bangladesh and France, and said the party’s two jailed leaders were following Mahatma Gandhi’s path.

In a video posted on X, Dipke said Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka “went to jail with smiles on their faces” even though they believed they were being held unlawfully. “People talk about Nepal or Bangladesh, but look at our comrades: they went to jail smiling, without being provoked,” he said.

“Without wanting to draw direct comparisons, it reflects what Mahatma Gandhi did; when he was sent to jail, he went quietly because it was his Satyagraha,” he said. “Ashutosh and Sourav are carrying out that exact same Satyagraha.”

He turned on critics who keep pointing to France: “have some shame and look at what is happening right here in India.” And he said prison would not change the two men. “If anyone thinks locking Sourav and Ashutosh up will intimidate or break them, that is never going to happen.”

Das and Ranka were remanded after climbing the gate of Jantar Mantar with the Tricolour on 13 October. Their custody was extended until Wednesday, 21 October, after their surety was rejected over a reported mismatch in documents.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut called on the Supreme Court to step in. “If we cannot hoist the Tricolour in our own country, then what can we do?” he said. “We have faith in the Supreme Court, and it is the Supreme Court alone that can save the nation.” He warned that “if this government remains in power, chaos will inevitably spread”.

Dipke’s message came the same day RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat told protesters to stay within the Constitution and said regime change “has neither happened nor will it happen”.