Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Friday questioned the Centre's priorities, alleging that the government was deploying security personnel in Delhi to prevent protests instead of focusing on national security concerns, including the situation along the India-China border.
Dipke referred to the case involving American national Matthew VanDyke, accused of training armed groups in Myanmar, and questioned the seriousness with which the matter was being treated.
"It is not that he wanted to wave the flag of our country. If he wanted to wave the flag of our country then it could have been a big national security threat, but he was just training some terrorists, so it is not a big deal," Dipke said sarcastically.
His remarks came against the backdrop of continuing restrictions on demonstrations in the national capital and the extension of deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel.
๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ
Referring to comments by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General Shatrujeet Singh Kapur on the challenges of countering China, Dipke alleged that security forces meant to protect the country's borders were being deployed in Delhi to prevent demonstrations.
"So there are a lot of concerning things, but the priority is the same. Matthew Van Dyke is not a big priority, India-China border safety is not a big priority, what is the priority, no one should protest in Delhi, no one should ask for Gyanesh Kumar's resignation in Delhi," he said.
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dipke added, "China is not letting him show his red eyes, Trump is not letting him say anything."
ITBP chief Kapur had said on Thursday that face-offs had taken place at several locations in Arunachal Pradesh and were continuing. He also highlighted the challenges posed by China's military modernisation.
๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐
VanDyke and six Ukrainian nationals were arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in March for allegedly entering Myanmar through Mizoram and training members of ethnic armed groups in drone warfare.
According to the allegations, the training involved drone operations, assembly and jamming technology.
A Delhi court on Friday permitted VanDyke to travel to the United States and extended permission for the six Ukrainian co-accused to remain outside India until February 24, 2027.
Dipke cited the developments while questioning the government's approach towards matters involving national security.
๐๐ฒ๐น๐ต๐ถ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ
Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry has extended the deployment of 273 CAPF companies in Delhi until October 31 for the second time, citing the possibility of "flash protests" by political and other groups, official sources said.
The forces were initially deployed earlier this month amid demonstrations by the CJP and other organisations demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The continued deployment has become a point of contention, with Dipke alleging that preventing protests in Delhi was receiving greater attention than other security concerns.
The Centre has cited the possibility of further demonstrations as the reason for extending the security deployment.