CJP Protest: Arvind Kejriwal warns of another brutal crackdown on student protesters
New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal posted a picture on his X handle of an advisory circular issued by Atul Bhargava, President of New Delhi Traders Association (NDMC), amid the ongoing situation in New Delhi’s Connaught Place area on Wednesday. All shops and establishments are strictly advised in the circular to protect their properties by practising a total shutdown amid the tense situation in the area.
Pointing to the brutal clash that erupted between Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protestors and the Delhi police on Tuesday, former Delhi CM Arvind Kerival said questioned the need for closing all shops and “piles of ambulances’ being present in the area, along with intense security being linked with another ‘brutal attack’ on the student protesters.
“Orders to close all shops in Connaught Place by 6:30 PM this evening. Intense security. Piles of ambulances. Will the Modi government once again brutally attack its own children at Jantar Mantar today?”, Arvind Kejriwal wrote on his X handle the Sansad Chalo March demanding the resignation of the Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan.
The circular has advised closing all shops at 6:30 PM onwards in the Connaught Place area following a telephonic discussion with the chairperson and vice-chairperson of the trade’s association on Wednesday afternoon.
The circular “strictly advised that all shops and establishments, including offices and restaurants, in Connaught Place, New Delhi” are just a block away from Jantar Mantar.
The NDMC has requested all owners/occupiers to cooperate and ensure strict compliance with the above directions and avoid any unpleasant situation in the area.
Reports of pellet rounds being fired at the protesters during the July 20 “Sansad Chalo” march. Video and pictures have been circulating of the incident, while the police have denied allegations; hospital records and victims pointed directly to pellet wounds.
Sheikh Irshad Mansoori, a 25-year-old protester, sustained a deep pellet wound to his face, neck and around his chest after a Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel fired at the crowd near Palika Bazaar in the Connaught Place area.
On 20th of July, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokesperson was called by the Union Health Minister J.P Nadda to negotiate with the student protestors, asking them to drop their demand of asking for a resignation in a 5-hour-long meeting. Saurav Dass, official spokesperson for the CJP, announced that another round of talks with the government officials is only going to happen on a “neutral ground” such as the Press Club in Raisana Road or Jantar Mantar itself.