‘Ek peaceful protest se itna paranoia?’ Comedians turn to satire after Dhruv Rathee, CJP members are detained in Delhi

A joke about the government detaining an entire generation, a dig at the Prime Minister and a reference to the Streisand effect. Comedians have found plenty to say about the detentions ahead of the Jantar Mantar protest in Delhi, where YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) were among those held before they could join the demonstration.

Vir Das, Varun Grover, Punit Pania, Daniel Fernandes and Shyam Rangeela have all weighed in on the developments, using their social media accounts to question the authorities’ response. Azeem Banatwalla also shared a video drawing a historical comparison, which was reshared by several other comedians, including Urooj Ashfaq and Aditi Mittal.

‘The Devil’s In The Detains’

Daniel Fernandes took the news of the detentions and ran with it in a satirical post. Referring to CJP members Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, he joked that the “Fattu Prime Minister” would go on to detain all Gen Z citizens before the 2029 election.

He summed up the joke with the line, “The devil's in the detains,” tagging the post #BrokenNews and #Satire.

The humour was pointed at the idea of detaining people before they could participate in a protest. The three CJP members had reportedly been detained after arriving at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, with a video shared by Dipke appearing to show police personnel entering the aircraft.

Varun Grover shared the video and questioned the authorities’ response to a peaceful demonstration. “Ek peaceful protest se itna paranoia? Kuchh din botox chhor ke therapy mein kharcha karna chaahiye raja ji ko,” he wrote on X.

Vir Das brings up the streisand effect

Vir Das chose a different way to comment on the controversy. The comedian shared an image explaining the Streisand effect, which describes how attempts to suppress information can end up attracting even more public attention to it.

The post appeared amid the debate around electoral rolls and the authorities’ handling of people seeking to protest. Rather than directly spelling out his criticism, Das used the concept to suggest that efforts to contain a controversy can sometimes make it more visible.

Vir Das has also spoken about the role of comedians in political conversations. During an earlier CJP protest, he urged Indian live performers to stand up for young people and the issues affecting them.

Punit Pania questions Delhi police’s PR

Punit Pania directed his criticism at Delhi Police’s public messaging. He described a postcard-style open letter shared by the force around World Post Day as “cringe” PR gaslighting, also bringing up the much-discussed story about the recovery of a lost purse belonging to Patrick Higgins.

In a separate Facebook post, Pania wrote, “MoShah militarizing against the country's own people is more an admission of guilt than a show of power.”

Shyam Rangeela, meanwhile, mocked the reported cancellation of railway services ahead of the planned demonstration. In a social media video, he joked that the CID had been deployed to track him down, turning the disruption and security measures into material for satire.

Azeem Banatwalla draws a historical parallel

Azeem Banatwalla shared a video on Instagram with the caption “dyer circumstances”, an apparent play on the name of General Reginald Dyer, who was responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919. The video compared the situation surrounding the Jantar Mantar protest with events from that period.

The post was also reshared on Instagram Stories by other comedians, including Urooj Ashfaq and Aditi Mittal.

What is the Jantar Mantar protest about?

The planned demonstration was organised by the Cockroach Janta Party and called for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign. The protest came amid growing criticism of the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, a process intended to verify and update voter lists.

Critics have raised concerns that the exercise could result in eligible voters being removed from the rolls. The Election Commission has described voter-roll revision as part of its electoral responsibilities, while opposition parties and activists have questioned how the process is being conducted.

Delhi Police did not grant permission for the planned gathering, citing security concerns. Dhruv Rathee and CJP members Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were among those detained as they attempted to join the protest.