'Waving Tiranga Is No Crime': Opposition Rallies Behind Neha Bora, Abhijeet Dipke

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 denotified last week as a protest site, and was also part of the wider demonstration.

Nonetheless, hundreds of protesters, including CJP members and student groups, gathered at Connaught Place and Mandi House for a series of flash protests, waving the national flag amid heavy police deployment. Police said around 100 people were detained by Friday evening. 

A police spokesperson also said there was no permission for the protests and that the Flag Code was potentially being violated, thus the action. Police picked up Dipke from his residence in Jhandewalan while he was on his way to Connaught Place. Neha Bora was detained near Mandi House.

'Your Didi Stands With You'

The Congress said the party "stands with all the protesters arrested today". "Together, we will fight and defeat their sinister plot to undermine our democracy by attacking our right to vote," a post by the party on X read, targeting the BJP-led NDA government. Samajswadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also questioned why the police were not disclosing Bora's location till late night. 

"WHAT IS DELHI POLICE UP TO?" Mamata Banerjee wrote on X. "Abhijeet Dipke has been detained for holding the Indian National Flag. Let that sink in. In Independent India, our youth are being detained for peacefully asserting their democratic rights," she added.

The Trinamool Congress founder further wrote, "This is nothing short of an undeclared Emergency. A government that fears dissent is now trying to intimidate an entire generation into silence. 

This is the conduct of a fascist regime that cannot tolerate a voice it cannot control," accusing the BJP-led central government and the Election Commission of collusion.

Addressing Dipke and the other two jailed CJP leaders by name, she wrote: "Abhijeet, Ashutosh (Ranka), Saurav (Das), you represent the courage, conscience and aspirations of India's youth... Your Didi stands firmly with you.."

DMK chief MK Stalin, a former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, questioned where the two were being held. "Detaining them without disclosing their whereabouts is blatantly illegal and deeply inhumane," he posted on X. 

"The Union Government must release them immediately and stop suppressing peaceful protests. Every attempt to crush the movement will only make it stronger," Stalin added, demanding that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar "must go".

Police sources told PTI that Dipke had been taken to Jafarpur Kalan police station. AISA later said on X that Bora was being held alone at the Anti-Narcotic Task Force office in Manglapuri. Both locations are on the outskirts of the national capital.

Arvind Kejriwal called the central government and police's action "sheer dictatorship". "Is waving the Tiranga ['tricolour'/national flag] a crime? Abhijeet's arrest shows how scared Modi ji is of them," the AAP chief said, taking aim at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In another post, Kejriwal wrote, "If we don't wave the Tiranga in our own country, will we wave it in Pakistan? Those who have a problem with the Indian Tiranga should go to Pakistan."

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.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had not personally reacted to the latest detentions when this report was filed, though he has led his own marches as part of the ongoing demonstrations over the past two weeks and asserted that "all the protests are one".

Earlier in the day, more than 20 Delhi Police personnel had visited Dipke's home and served him a notice. It directed him to refrain from any action that could prejudice the rights of citizens, traders, commuters, patients and others. 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.

Police told Dipke that waving the national flag was not illegal, but staging an unpermitted march and gathering a crowd would be.

Dipke was heard saying, "New Delhi nahin jaa sakta, kahin aur toh jaa sakta hoon. Maine kaun sa kanoon toda hai? (I cannot go to New Delhi, but I can go somewhere else. What law have I broken?)."

Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, meanwhile, visited the Parliament Street police station to review security arrangements. Security personnel cordoned off Central Park in Connaught Place, forming a human chain along its metal railings. Rapid Action Force personnel were deployed inside the park.

What Police Said

Later in the night, police said that while around 100 people were detained from Barakhamba Road, Mandi House and other locations, no one was detained from Connaught Place Inner Circle. Participants were allowed to march with the Tricolour, in keeping with respect for the national flag, said a spokesperson.

"All metro stations and markets remained open. Most protesters arrived via Rajiv Chowk Metro Station Gate 6. Internet services remained functional, and traffic movement continued normally," an official said.

"A 15-20 minute march took place in Connaught Place. Protesters completed three rounds of the Inner Circle. There was no attempt to enter Central Park," the official added.