Amaravati, Oct 2026 : Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday criticised the arrest of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka in Delhi, saying the action would aggravate the situation rather than address the underlying concerns.
The two leaders were arrested for allegedly trespassing at Jantar Mantar and were subsequently remanded to five days of judicial custody by a Delhi court.
Reacting to the arrests on social media platform X, Jagan Mohan Reddy called for a proactive approach to addressing concerns surrounding the electoral process. He said restoring public confidence in elections required correcting systemic shortcomings rather than responding with punitive measures.
“A proactive approach always yields better results than a reactive stance. The system has a flaw that needs to be corrected. Trust in the electoral process must be restored,” he said.
The YSR Congress chief added that the arrests of Das and Ranka would not resolve the issues they had raised.
“The arrests of Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka do not solve anything; it only aggravates the situation. I empathise with Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka,” the former Chief Minister said.
Earlier, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President K.T. Rama Rao had also criticised the arrests and the court’s decision to remand the two CJP leaders to judicial custody for five days.
In a post on X, the former Telangana minister described the detention as an excessive response to protests and argued that young people seeking changes to the system should not be subjected to such action.
“If there is one group of people really fighting for this country's future, it is the youth, the Gen Z of this nation. To imprison them because they are trying to clean up the system reeks of insecurity,” Rama Rao said.
He also questioned the invocation of trespassing charges against the two leaders, linking their detention to the broader democratic right to dissent.
“Slapping trespassing cases on Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka is absolutely uncalled for. Five-day judicial custody for waving Indian flags at Jantar Mantar is a new level of Emergency!” he said.
Rama Rao added that India’s freedom had been achieved through protests and public movements, asserting that dissent remained an essential component of democracy.
“Don't forget that the country attained its freedom through protests and movements like these. Dissent is the cornerstone of any democracy,” he said.
CJP founder and convenor Abhijeet Dipke thanked Rama Rao for speaking out against what he described as the “illegal arrests” of Das and Ranka.
Responding to Dipke, Rama Rao expressed solidarity with the CJP leader and called for collective efforts towards improving the country.
“We are all in this together brother. Let's fight for a better India. Jai Hind,” the BRS leader said.
The arrests have drawn criticism from opposition leaders, who have questioned the police action and called for greater attention to concerns over electoral transparency. The case has also brought renewed focus to the debate over the balance between maintaining public order and protecting the democratic right to peaceful protest.
