Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta attributed responsibility for disorder during the capital's recent protests to four groups — Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, left-wing parties, and the Citizens for Justice and Peace — contending that each played a role in stirring unrest. She also extended praise to Delhi Police for their handling of the incident and their role in keeping the public safe.
In a post on X, Gupta described events on Delhi's streets as a matter of concern, placing the blame for rising tensions on what she characterised as deliberate provocation of law enforcement by those taking part in the demonstrations. She alleged that members of Congress, the AAP, Left parties, and the CJP had together caused disorder under the cover of protest activity.
An official statement described Delhi Police and other security forces as having faced deliberate provocation, with organised attempts made to engineer a confrontational atmosphere. The statement also thanked residents of the city for their composure throughout the unrest, attributed the maintenance of order to the sustained efforts of deployed personnel, and characterised certain participants in the disturbances as outside agitators working to undermine the city's social cohesion.
Gupta placed on record her view that Delhi Police personnel had conducted themselves with restraint, offering them her formal commendation. She stated that her government would not stand aside while protests disrupted residents' daily routines, adding that legal measures would be deployed where needed and that enforcement would proceed without hesitation, while noting that the handling of the situation had, in her account, placed the welfare of the public at the centre of all decisions taken.
Police were deployed in notable numbers at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, where a CJP-organised rally calling for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation drew a visible law enforcement presence throughout the demonstration. Physical barriers were erected at the Ghazipur border crossing, 45 Metro station entrances were closed to the public, and a number of people attending the event were detained by authorities upon arrival.
The measures drew objections from some quarters over their perceived impact on democratic freedoms, while the Bharatiya Janata Party also voiced opposition. Delhi Police sources confirmed that all individuals held at detention facilities had been freed, with the exception of those affiliated with CJP leadership, whose cases were to proceed through established legal channels.
Authorities stated that the heightened deployment of security personnel would remain in place, citing calls for further protests attributed to the CJP, the All India Youth Federation, the All India Students Federation, and the Students' Federation of India.
Three CJP activists — Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka, and Saurav Das — were taken into custody by Delhi Police upon stepping off a flight, in the hours before the protest got under way. Organisers were informed that no authorisation for the gathering had been obtained.
While Dipke remained in custody, officers informed him that his grandmother had passed away at her home in Santuk Pimpri village, within Hingoli district of Maharashtra, after a lengthy illness. Funeral arrangements were shared with him, and support for travel on compassionate grounds was made available.
A number of opposition figures were taken into custody as the day unfolded. Arvind Kejriwal, national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party, and MA Baby of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) were among those detained. Police also took Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, along with MP John Brittas and other Left-aligned figures, into custody after a demonstration outside Kerala Bhawan. Reports indicate that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and a number of Trinamool Congress MPs were also among those detained.
