New Delhi, Sep 25: The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) has announced nationwide protests from October 2 if Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by Saturday, escalating its campaign over the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and its handling of electoral-roll issues.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke announced the plan on Friday, a day after the organisation gave Kumar 48 hours to step down. In a post on X, Dipke said the protests would begin in Mumbai on October 2, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti, before extending to cities across India. He also called for the day to be used to “save democracy”.
The announcement followed a press conference held by CJP leaders on Thursday, when Dipke issued the 48-hour ultimatum and said the organisation would continue its nationwide agitation until Kumar resigned. The party’s latest announcement places October 2 as the proposed start date for the demonstrations if the resignation demand is not met.
The CJP’s demand comes amid reports of differences within the ECI over decisions concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, access to voter data and the registration of new voters. Recent reports have said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections on multiple occasions over aspects of electoral-roll decisions and the SIR process.
Dipke alleged that the functioning of the Election Commission under Kumar had undermined the democratic process. He argued that decisions affecting electoral participation should remain with voters rather than being determined through the actions of the government or election authorities.
At Thursday’s press conference, Dipke also made strong allegations against Kumar, describing him as “anti-national” and accusing him of undermining democracy. Those statements represented the CJP founder’s allegations and were not established as facts in the material available for this report. The CJP has linked its demand to concerns over electoral-roll revisions and the reported differences within the poll panel.
CJP co-convenor Saurav Das also criticised the existing electoral system, describing it as corrupt and broken and calling for fundamental changes. He said the organisation’s campaign reflected demands for reform from young people.
The proposed nationwide action marks a further escalation of the CJP’s campaign. The organisation has said its protests will begin in Mumbai on October 2 if Kumar does not resign by the Saturday deadline and will subsequently extend to cities across the country.
