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Saurav Das claims govt ‘planning’ to arrest him, Abhijeet Dipke, other CJP leaders before Oct 10 protest at Jantar Mantar
“But this will be a big mistake. The young will not tolerate this,” CJP's Saurav Das said in a social media post.
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Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement's co-convener Saurav Das has alleged that the government is planning to arrest him and other party leaders, days ahead of the group’s planned October 10 protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
Das named CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Ratna Singh, among others, while making the allegation in a post on X. He did not, however, provide details or evidence to support the claim.
“The government is planning on arresting me, Abhijeet, Ashutosh, Ratna and other Cockroach Janta Party leaders," Das claimed.
“If the government thinks that such dictatorial actions will work, then they are mistaken! The young generation has awakened. We appeal to everyone to continue fighting for our rights and future, with or without us,” he wrote, adding that the CJP has “always been ready to face jail or worse”.
“But this will be a big mistake. The young will not tolerate this,” Das added.
Earlier, he had called the chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar “India’s Enemy Number 1” and announced that the party would hold a nationwide protest in Delhi on October 10.
Why is CJP protesting on October 10?
The CJP has called for a fresh protest if Gyanesh Kumar does not resign over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The October 10 call was announced by Dipke last week, hours after the group held a protest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park over the same demand.
Also Read | Delhi Police skips name tags at Jantar Mantar protests to avoid social media targeting
“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,” Dipke wrote on X.
He said the demonstration would remain peaceful and appealed to citizens supporting free and fair elections to participate.
“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,” he wrote.
Ranka, another co-convener, said the party had resolved to take the protest to Jantar Mantar and demand justice for people allegedly disenfranchised during the electoral roll revision.
Thousands attend Mumbai protest
The October 10 call followed a sizeable CJP gathering at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on Friday. Dipke used the slogan ‘Go Gyanu go’ for the demonstration, while the largely young crowd raised slogans including ‘Vote chor, gaddi chor’.
Thousands attended the protest, including film and music personalities Shabana Azmi and Vishal Dadlani. Dipke was joined by Ranka and Das at the demonstration.
The protests come amid a controversy surrounding the Election Commission and the SIR exercise. An investigative report by The Indian Express claimed that 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 exercise.
The ECI has rejected the allegations, maintaining that major decisions, including the SIR of electoral rolls, were taken unanimously by the full commission.
