MUMBAI: The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has announced plans for another protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on October 10 if Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar does not resign.CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke made the announcement on Friday night after leading a large demonstration at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park, where thousands of people gathered despite police denying permission for the protest.“If Gyanesh Kumar doesn’t resign, cockroaches from across India will march to Delhi & protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10,” he said in a post on X, adding that it would be a peaceful agitation and calling on citizens who want free and fair elections to join.“Ours will be a peaceful andolan. We will walk on the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi. It is up to the Govt & the Delhi Police whether they respect our right to peaceful protest or repeat the brutality we witnessed on July 20. This is a fight to save our democracy. Every citizen who wants free & fair elections must join,” he added further.Also read: ‘Go to Pakistan’: CJP’s Abhijeet Dipke on those doing Hindu-Muslim ‘divisive’ politicsEarlier, while addressing protesters Dipke had warned of “Jantar Mantar 2.0” if Kumar refused to step down.“If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign, the Gen Z of the entire nation will go to Delhi. There will be Jantar Mantar 2.0,” he said, as he gave a call for “Chalo Delhi”.
What is CJP demanding?
The CJP has demanded Kumar’s resignation and criminal proceedings against him. It has also called for the freezing of the 2025 voter lists and the abolition of the 2023 law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners.The party has accused the Election Commission of irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls. Its leaders have claimed that large numbers of voters were deleted or added in several states.Dipke claimed that 13 crore voters had been deleted over two years. He also alleged that 40 lakh voters were added to Maharashtra’s electoral rolls ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections.The allegations have not been independently verified.Dipke also claimed that voter deletions had affected constituencies in Delhi, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.In Delhi, he said, 40,000 voters were deleted in AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal’s Assembly constituency, where Kejriwal subsequently lost by 4,000 votes.In Tamil Nadu, Dipke claimed nearly one lakh voters were deleted from former chief minister MK Stalin’s constituency, while he also alleged that voters were deleted from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s constituency.The CJP has linked these alleged deletions to election results and accused the ruling BJP of benefiting from changes to electoral rolls.
‘One Nation, One Election, One Party’
Addressing the crowd, Dipke also criticised the proposal for simultaneous elections.He claimed that the BJP’s real objective was “One Nation, One Election, One Party”.The CJP founder also accused the BJP of attempting to weaken regional parties, citing the Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra, and described the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena as a “shell company”.He said Maharashtra had been chosen as the starting point for the CJP’s campaign because the alleged irregularities began in the state.Dipke also argued that the BJP’s victories in some states did not disprove his allegations.“BJP supporters argue that the opposition won in Telangana, Karnataka and Jharkhand (and hence the elections are fair), but “when the match is fixed, not all balls are no-balls and not all catches are dropped,” he said.
Thousands gather at Shivaji Park
The protest in Mumbai went ahead despite the police denying permission for the event.Young men and women gathered at Shivaji Park, waving the tricolour and carrying placards demanding Kumar’s resignation. Heavy security was deployed around the venue and up to Dadar station.Among the slogans on display were “Gyanu, Tujha Democracy Var Bharosa Nay Kay?”, “Gyanesh BRO, JUST RESIGN” and “Gaddaar Gyaanu Must Go”.Groups including the Student Federation of India (SFI) and youngsters took part in the demonstration, while groups affiliated with the All India Students’ Federation (AISF) from Pune played musical instruments.The protest was held on Gandhi Jayanti and the stage featured quotations on non-violence and simplicity, along with tributes to Babasaheb Ambedkar.The title song from the film “Rang De Basanti” and A R Rehman’s “Vande Mataram” were also played.
Actors, filmmakers join protest
Veteran actors Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, filmmakers Vishal Bhardwaj and Hansal Mehta, singer-music director Vishal Dadlani and Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, were among those present.The Shiv Sena (UBT) had also extended support to the agitation. Its local MLA Mahesh Sawant said party leader Aaditya Thackeray did not attend because he was unwell.The protest also featured several unusual forms of expression. Student Manish Mandal wore jewellery made from ‘Melody’ chocolate wrappers and held a banner reading “Fraud detergent powder” in Devanagari script.Aayan Patel, a law student carrying a placard that read “Gyanu Tuza Democracy Var Bharosa Nay Kay” (Don’t you trust democracy Gyanesh), said many students from his college had joined the protest.“Voting is everyone’s right. If that right is not protected, the future of the next generation will be difficult,” he said.A teenage girl named Anuja, who spoke from the stage, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have done something for his “bhaktas”.The government was so baffled by the agitations that it could not figure out how it should respond, she said.(With inputs from PTI)
