A flag-bearing march wound through the area near Central Park in Connaught Place on Friday, drawing a visible police presence along the route. Supporters and party members of the Aam Aadmi Party convened a Tiranga Rally to voice objections toward the Election Commission, citing what they described as procedural irregularities within the institution.

Through Citizens for Justice and Peace, Abhijeet Dipke issued an appeal for people to gather at Central Park in Connaught Place on 16 October, where the national flag was to be raised at an event billed as the 'Lehra Do Tiranga' rally. Roughly 150 people taking part in gatherings at the heart of the city were taken into custody by police, according to authorities.

Abhijeet Dipke was among those detained, apprehended as he stepped out of the residence belonging to NCP-SCP spokesperson Anish Gawande, in the period before the planned 'Lehra Do Tiranga' rally was set to take place. At the moment of the arrest, a law enforcement officer informed Dipke that he was being held under preventive detention.

Prohibitory orders under Section 163 are currently active across the Connaught Place area. Two formal notices grounded in legal provisions were handed to Dipke, at which point officers informed him that he was being taken into custody. A notice from the New Delhi district — issued through the Delhi Police Act — places a prohibition on his entry to Central Park, with public assembly restrictions in that locality forming the stated legal basis, under Section 163 of the BNSS.

A bond-violation notice from the South-West Delhi district authority forms the second document, drawing on an earlier preventive measure that had named Dipke, Ashutosh, and Saurav. All three individuals had been taken into custody at the airport and brought before a judicial officer, with authorities contending they breached a twelve-month commitment to keep the peace.

Activists from AISA and allied Left-leaning organisations assembled near Mandi House to demand the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with police detaining several of those present at the protest.

Voices from several Opposition benches — among them West Bengal's former chief minister Mamata Banerjee, AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav — raised objections over the detention of CJP activist Abhijeet Dipke. Banerjee took to X to challenge the conduct of Delhi Police, stating that Abhijeet Dipke had been taken into custody for carrying the Indian National Flag.

Banerjee added that young people across the country were being taken into custody for exercising their constitutional right to protest, and that the administration appeared to be using legal pressure to discourage an entire generation from voicing dissent. She described the three individuals — Abhijeet, Ashutosh, and Saurav — as embodying the values and ambitions held by young people across India. She stated that no authority holds the power to silence an entire generation, and that her solidarity with those affected remained unwavering.

In a post on X, AAP national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal described the situation as an instance of authoritarian governance. Questions were raised over whether displaying the national flag constitutes an offence.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav posted on X that the day represented a contest between "Ekaranga" and "Tiranga," while AAP's Delhi unit head Saurabh Bharadwaj — carrying the national flag during a party demonstration in the capital — raised objections to the Centre over security arrangements in the city, asking why residents were being prevented from displaying the Tricolour. Bharadwaj, speaking with a television news outlet, described as irrational the position that hoisting the national flag on Indian soil could be prohibited, and questioned why displaying it remained restricted.

Bharadwaj raised the question of whether the scale of personnel deployed by the central government was warranted to prevent citizens from displaying the national flag, noting that the demonstration was proceeding outside Rashtrapati Bhavan. He questioned the decision to deploy approximately 50,000 security personnel in response to young people gathering to raise the national flag, and characterised the closure of Central Park as among the actions that followed from that decision. He described the matter as having no basis whatsoever.

JMM parliamentarian Mahua Maji noted that, against the backdrop of current national developments, a widespread inclination toward demonstrations appeared to be taking hold across various sections of the public. The BJP has held national government since winning general elections in 2014, 2019, and 2024, a span extending across more than ten years of federal voting.

Delhi Police officers arrived at the address in the capital where Abhijeet Dipke, an activist with CJP, had been staying. A notice citing Section 163 of the BNS as operative throughout the Connaught Place area was handed to Dipke while a Delhi Police officer stood present. The document stated that no authorisation had been granted by the NDMC for the planned Tiranga Yatra, and that should CJP proceed at Connaught Place, the action would be treated as a breach of Section 163 of the BNS, with legal steps to follow.

Authorities told Dipke that carrying the Tiranga fell within legal bounds, though organising an unauthorised procession or drawing together a crowd would breach the active restrictions. Posts circulating on social media platforms called on people to gather at Connaught Place before 5 pm, with police noting that no permission had been obtained for the assembly.

The notice described Connaught Place as a densely trafficked commercial district where restricted access points raise questions around controlling visitor flow and enabling swift evacuation if needed. Rajiv Chowk Metro Station, an interchange point linking the Blue and Yellow lines, was cited in the police report for its throughput of roughly 200,000 commuters on a typical day. Among the grounds put forward were disruption to traffic flow through central Delhi, constraints on routes serving hospitals and emergency responders, and vulnerabilities tied to Connaught Place's location near Parliament, the Central Secretariat, and diplomatic zones.

The document pointed to earlier rallies held by the Aam Aadmi Party, citing claimed breaches of the terms under which those gatherings had been authorised, along with reported episodes of violence and damage to publicly and privately owned property. Authorities invoked Section 163 of the BNSS to impose restrictions, warning that anyone found in breach would face proceedings under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with any other relevant provisions.

Dipke countered the allegations of inciting disorder by maintaining that calling those in power to account is a cornerstone of democratic participation, not an act of lawlessness. Writing on X, Dipke pushed back against the notion that street demonstrations harm commerce, arguing that peaceful protests leave businesses unaffected. He stated that when authorities implement full urban lockdowns, sever internet access, restrict movement, and station security personnel across an area, it is ordinary residents who absorb the impact.

The Aam Aadmi Party described adherence to Gandhian principles of peace and non-violence as a founding commitment, one that party representatives said had been upheld throughout the organisation's history. Demonstrations held across Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru, and Nagpur proceeded without incident in each city, according to the organisers. An assault on a speaker in Jaipur did not prompt a retaliatory response, with the decision to hold back attributed to a stated personal commitment against meeting violence with further violence. The group stated that pursuing constitutional avenues — protections laid out under the framework shaped by BR Ambedkar — stood as their chosen path over any turn to physical force.