NDMC Closes Central Park in Connaught Place for Two Days Ahead of CJP March

The New Delhi Municipal Council issued a notice on 15 October stating that Central Park in Connaught Place will be closed to the public on 16 and 17 October 2026 for administrative reasons. The notice appeared the same day the Cockroach Janta Party called a “Lehra do Tiranga” march at the park for 5 p.m. on Friday.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has urged supporters to gather with the national flag. He said waving the tricolour is not a crime and that the march protests the arrest of party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka. The two were sent to five days’ judicial custody after police said they climbed a locked gate at Jantar Mantar, a site recently removed from the list of designated protest venues. Dipke has also asked people in other cities to hold parallel marches.

The Delhi High Court declined to restrain the CJP from holding the event. The court recorded Delhi Police’s assurance that it would take steps under the law to regulate the gathering. Police have stated that Connaught Place is not a designated protest site and that demonstrations require permission at Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground or CBD Ground. Several companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed, with barricades planned around the inner circle.

NDMC did not explicitly link the closure to the march in its notice. Security personnel were visible near the park on 15 October. Dipke addressed a press conference on Thursday with AISA president Neha Bora and actor Prakash Raj. He appealed to political parties and civil society to join regardless of ideology, saying the right to vote must be protected.

Jantar Mantar was denotified as a protest site earlier this month following a Supreme Court direction on restricted zones. CJP leaders had attempted to enter the locked area while carrying the flag and raising slogans against the government and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The park closure means any assembly on Friday will have to occur outside the inner circle.

Delhi Police have not announced the exact number of personnel assigned. No alternative venue has been offered by the authorities for the CJP event.