Ashutosh Ranka Released After Assam Detention, CJP Plans Wider Campaign
CJP leader Ashutosh Ranka was released after being detained with volunteers in Guwahati. He accused Assam Police of illegal detention and said the party would intensify its campaign.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leader Ashutosh Ranka has stepped up his criticism of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma after he and more than 40 volunteers were detained in Guwahati ahead of a planned regional meeting.
Ranka said the Assam Police detention was “illegal” and claimed officers told him they were acting on orders from “the top”. He and the volunteers were later released. Other reports also confirmed that CJP members had been detained at a police facility in Kahilipara before the meeting.
After his release, Ranka posted a message referring to the CJP as “cockroaches” and said the group was “just getting started”. He also said the party would intensify its activities across the Northeast.
According to Ranka, the planned meeting was intended to discuss government schools, indigenous rights in Kaziranga and concerns over constituency delimitation. He accused the state government of trying to prevent the group from raising these issues.
The CJP has not been alone in criticising the detentions. Opposition figures also questioned the police action, while reports said the party had planned its first regional volunteers’ meeting in Guwahati.
The Assam government’s side of the allegations was not detailed in the reports cited above. The episode has nevertheless added another political flashpoint ahead of the state’s electoral activity, with the CJP signalling that its campaign in Assam and the wider Northeast will continue.
