The Cockroach Janta Party will hold a fresh protest on October 10 at Jantar Mantar in Delhi if chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar does not resign over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke announced on Friday, hours after the group’s protest in Mumbai over the same demand.
Despite the afternoon heat and police barricades, thousands of young men and women gathered in central Mumbai for the protest, even though the police had refused permission for the event.
Addressing the crowd at Shivaji Park, Dipke claimed that the BJP had won states it could not secure even at the height of “Prime Minister Narendra Modi wave”, following the alleged deletion of voters.
Dipke’s fresh Jantar Mantar protest warning
Deep Dive
What are the main demands of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) regarding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar?
Why is CEC Gyanesh Kumar facing protests from the Cockroach Janta Party?
How does the CJP plan to escalate its protests if Gyanesh Kumar does not resign?
In a post on X, the CJP founder wrote, “If Gyanesh Kumar doesn't resign, cockroaches from across India will march to Delhi & protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10. If Delhi Police tries to stop us, wherever they stop us will become our Jantar Mantar.”
He said the planned demonstration would remain peaceful and urged citizens who support free and fair elections to take part.
{{/usCountry}}He said the planned demonstration would remain peaceful and urged citizens who support free and fair elections to take part.
{{/usCountry}}“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 wrote.
CJP co-convenor Saurav Das also described the CEC as “India’s Enemy Number 1” and announced that the party had decided to organise a nationwide protest in Delhi on October 10.
Ashutosh Ranka, also a CJP co-convenor, wrote on X that the CJP had resolved to “take the protest straight to Jantar Mantar and demand justice for millions of Indians who have been disenfranchised by Gyanesh Kumar.”
“It’s time for India to peacefully assemble in Delhi on Oct 10. And reclaim our democracy,” he wrote.
Thousands show up for Mumbai protest
‘Go Gyanu go’ was the slogan Dipke chose for Friday's demonstration at Shivaji Park. The largely young crowd raised slogans of ‘Vote chor, gaddi chor’, HT reported earlier.
Thousands of people attended the protest, including film and music personalities such as Shabana Azmi and Vishal Dadlani. Dipke was joined by Ranka and Das.
Launching the demonstration on Gandhi Jayanti, Dipke said, “Mahatma Gandhi, B R Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru were the soul, backbone and mind of India, and Modi cannot match their sacrifice, hard work and contribution.”
He said the Mumbai demonstration was the first of several protests planned in other cities and states, including Goa, Kolkata, Patna and Bengaluru.
The campaign, he added, would be driven by young people and Gen-Z, whom he called “our cadre”, if the CJP's demands were not fulfilled. These demands include: CEC Kumar’s resignation, a criminal case against him, the restoration of electoral rolls to their pre-2024 Lok Sabha election status by scrapping the SIR, and the withdrawal of the amended Representation of the People’s Act.
Why CEC Gyanesh Kumar is under fire
CEC Gyanesh Kumar is at the centre of a controversy involving the Election Commission following an investigative report by The Indian Express that claimed Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures linked to the SIR exercise.
The Election Commission has rejected these allegations, saying that major decisions, including the SIR of electoral rolls, had been taken unanimously by the full commission.
Dipke said Maharashtra was chosen as the starting point for the campaign against CEC Kumar because the alleged irregularities first emerged in the state.
He claimed that 13 crore voters had been removed from the electoral rolls over the past two years. Dipke said India had 97 crore registered voters in 2024, while the vote-share gap between the NDA and the INDIA bloc in the Lok Sabha elections was only 2 per cent. He alleged that Kumar was appointed 15 days before the polls to widen this gap.