Nagpur, 14 Oct (HS): Abhijit Dipke visited the historic

Deekshabhoomi in Nagpur on the occasion of Dhammachakra Pravartan Day to pay

tribute to Dr B R Ambedkar. Talking to media persons, Dipke launched a scathing

attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Election Commission, the BJP-led

government and the Delhi Police, alleging suppression of democratic protests

and constitutional rights.

Dipke accused the

Centre of imposing an unofficial Emergency in the country. “I want to tell

Narendra Modi that if you want to impose an Emergency, do it officially. Why

are you imposing an unofficial Emergency? Today, permission is required even to

hoist the national flag at Jantar Mantar. Has hoisting the Tricolour become

such a serious crime that people are sent to five days of custody?” he questioned.

He alleged that activists Saurav Das and

Ashutosh Ranka had been illegally sent to custody. He also asserted that he did

not require any security and was not afraid of arrest. Dipke said the protests

by his group and the INDI Alliance were driven by a common objective of

opposing Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and protecting electoral

democracy.

He questioned the

Supreme Court’s role in cases involving alleged deletion of voters’ names,

including in West Bengal.

Dipke clarified that the Cockroach Janata Party was an independent

pressure group with no affiliation to any political party. “We have had no

discussions with Rahul Gandhi or other political leaders. The INDI Alliance and

our movement are fighting for the same cause, which is to protect democracy and

the Constitution.

He added that Uddhav

Thackeray and Raj Thackeray had extended support to their protest at Jantar

Mantar, while questioning why some people repeatedly attempted to link the

movement with the Aam Aadmi Party.

Paying tribute to Dr Ambedkar, Dipke said, India would continue

to be governed by Ambedkar’s constitutional principles despite what he

described as attempts by Prime Minister Modi to impose the RSS ideology. ”No

matter how hard Narendra Modi tries to impose the RSS ideology, this country

will always follow Babasaheb Ambedkar’s thoughts and the Constitution. Social

justice was Babasaheb’s vision, and standing with every person facing injustice

is our responsibility,” he said.

He defended the right

to protest as a fundamental democratic freedom and accused the RSS of

historically supporting British rulers. Responding to allegations, Dipke

challenged senior advocate Harish Salve to submit any evidence against him to

Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Let the Home Minister examine it and take action

against us,” he said. Dipke criticised Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath

Shinde for repeatedly referring to Pakistan, China and the United States in

political arguments instead of addressing the drought situation in Maharashtra.

He claimed that following his grandmother’s death, he repeatedly

requested permission to contact his brother or other family members but was not

allowed to do so. ”Why was I pressurised at 3.30 am to call my family? It was

an attempt to put psychological pressure on me. I had been requesting

permission to speak to my brother or family members,” he alleged.

Dipke further said he was

prepared to face arrest anywhere, including at an airport, and would continue

raising his voice against what he described as attacks on democratic and constitutional

rights.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Ajay Vasant Mardikar