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. The announcement came a day after the organisation held a large demonstration at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park as part of its campaign against the Election Commission and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
CJP founder and convener Abhijeet Dipke said supporters from across the country would travel to Delhi for what the organisation has described as “Jantar Mantar 2.0”. The proposed protest is centred on the party’s demand for Kumar’s resignation and its allegations of irregularities in the electoral-roll revision process. The CJP has also called for action against those it holds responsible for the alleged irregularities.
The proposed Delhi demonstration follows the CJP’s October 2 protest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park, which went ahead despite police denying permission for a gathering at the venue. Thousands of people attended the demonstration, according to reports, while several public figures also joined the protest. The organisation had earlier conducted a prolonged agitation at Jantar Mantar over examination paper leaks.
Dipke has said the October 10 agitation will remain peaceful and urged citizens who support what the CJP describes as free and fair elections to participate. He also said that if protesters are stopped by Delhi Police, they would continue their demonstration wherever they are halted.
The CJP’s allegations regarding electoral-roll changes and the SIR process remain claims made by the organisation and have not been independently established in the reports reviewed. The Election Commission has been facing wider political protests and criticism over the SIR exercise, with opposition parties and civil society groups also raising concerns about the revision process.