Standing outside Gate No. 2 of Palika Bazaar, Udit held aloft the Tricolour and asked when carrying our flag became a crime in India. “There are so many problems in our country, and we are being stopped from hoisting the Tiranga… I came here because I was horrified to see so many forces being deployed to stop a democratic process,” he said.The 30-year-old from Ghaziabad was among 1,000-odd protesters who gathered opposite Central Park in Delhi’s Connaught Place for the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) Tiranga March on Friday. With the park sealed by the New Delhi Municipal Council, several people stood on the road with the national flag and raised slogans.Yasira, 22, an education counsellor working in Gurgaon who is originally from Manipur, also came to support the march. She said she wanted to raise her voice over the situation in her home state.“For the last three or four years, there has been a war-like situation in Manipur, but the Prime Minister has never spoken about it. He has gone on foreign visits… It is such a small state. Why is he not saying a word about it?” she said.Yasira also spoke about the prejudice faced by people from the state. “Some people call me Chinese. I do not like these things. No one is coming here to raise their voice over the Manipur issue,” she said, adding that she was excited by the turnout.Shivam, 22, from Bhopal, said he had initially planned to visit Connaught Place after work but decided to come for the march after watching videos on YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels.Also Read | Abhijeet Dipke taken away before Delhi march, asks cops: ‘Why are you stopping me?’“I am not against any particular party. But I do strongly feel it is important to raise one’s voice against wrongdoings. Earlier, everyone was split and no-one would gather for basic issues in large numbers. After that, the CJP came along. TV news channels do not give much prominence to these issues. This is a social media-led movement, which is why it has been so successful.”Story continues below this adSonu Yadav, 25, an MA sociology student from Bhind in Madhya Pradesh, has been staying in Delhi for the past three days to protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. He said he had been detained twice during this period. Protesters at the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) Tiranga March on Friday. (Express Photo)On Friday, Yadav stood outside Gate No. 1 of Palika Bazaar, holding the national flag. “I am staying in Karol Bagh and had to hide the flag while coming here; otherwise, they would have picked me up. I was there for 15 days during the NEET protest, too,” he said.Also Read | For CJP’s Tricolour march, blockade in central Delhi, 25,000 personnelYadav said elections had a direct bearing on people’s lives. “You and I vote to choose the MLA and MP, who then make policies on everything, from a pen to medicines and education. If we do not choose them, they will make policies according to their own wishes. Young people are unemployed; there are no jobs,” he said.