Ex-BJP leader Annamalai questions Centre's handling of CJP protests

NEW DELHI: Former Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai has questioned the Central government and Delhi Police over their handling of recent protests by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in New Delhi, raising concerns about due process and preventive detention. In a series of posts on October 22, Annamalai invoked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2011 remarks condemning a police crackdown on anti-corruption protesters, asking whether those democratic principles still apply today.

The controversy erupted after CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were arrested for allegedly attempting to trespass at Jantar Mantar, which had been de-notified as a designated protest site. The leaders were sent to Tihar Jail before being released after signing a bond. Annamalai, who resigned from the BJP on June 5, 2026, defended the group's right to dissent, stating, "I do not agree with CJP’s protest strategies, and I believe many of its approaches are misguided. But if you ask me whether they have the right to protest, argue and fight for an issue they consider important, my answer is an unequivocal yes".

Annamalai highlighted several procedural irregularities in the detention and bail proceedings. He questioned how an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) could function as a Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) to decide on preventive detention when the Delhi Police is also the complainant. He noted that the SEM deliberately arrived late for an October 19 bail hearing and recused himself citing a threat to his life. Furthermore, Annamalai asked why eight bail sureties were rejected and why a magistrate cross-examined a person offering surety.

Drawing parallels with past governments, Annamalai asked how BJP workers who jumped barricades during previous Congress and Aam Aadmi Party regimes were treated compared to the current CJP protesters. He also sought clarity on whether any action was taken against Delhi Police for the alleged use of pellet guns and standard operating procedure violations during the recent NEET examination protests.

Annamalai’s remarks underscore a growing friction between the former police officer and his erstwhile party. By criticising the tendency to label anti-government protests as "anti-national" or "foreign-funded", he highlighted a broader debate on the space for dissent. His observation that the BJP might be inadvertently giving the CJP "free publicity"—referencing a Dussehra event where a cockroach effigy was burned by BJP MLA Ashok Goel—suggests a strategic miscalculation by the ruling party in handling emerging opposition groups.

The BJP has reportedly responded to Annamalai's remarks, accusing him of double standards following his exit from the party. As the political discourse intensifies, Annamalai’s insistence that the Centre should address the substantive questions raised by the CJP, rather than resorting to whataboutism, sets the stage for continued debate over the boundaries of democratic protest in the national capital.