CJP To Launch Nationwide Protests From Oct 2 If CEC Gyanesh Kumar Doesn’t Resign: Abhijeet Dipke

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has threatened to launch nationwide protests from October 2 if Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by Saturday.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said the protests would begin in Mumbai on Gandhi Jayanti and later spread to cities across the country.

“If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by tomorrow, CJP will begin its nationwide protest from Mumbai on 2 October, and take it to cities across India,” Dipke said.

“This Gandhi Jayanti let’s pledge to save democracy,” he added.

CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka said October 2 was an appropriate date for the proposed protest, saying, “There cannot be a better date than Oct 2 to reclaim our Republic.”

CJP Targets Gyanesh Kumar

The announcement came a day after Dipke, accompanied by CJP co-convener Saurav Das and Ranka, accused Gyanesh Kumar of undermining the electoral process. The group had threatened a “Jantar Mantar 2.0” if the CEC did not resign within 48 hours.

Dipke also made several allegations against Kumar, including claims that the electoral process had been “rigged” and that decisions were being made over who could vote. These are allegations by CJP and have not been established independently.

Ranka called for criminal proceedings against Kumar, while Das alleged that young voters were being kept out of electoral rolls because, according to him, the BJP believes Gen Z does not support the party.

Protest Warning Amid ECI Row

The CJP’s demands come amid renewed scrutiny of the Election Commission following an Indian Express investigation into differences among the three election commissioners.

The report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders they said were taken without their knowledge. The objections reportedly covered issues including the addition, deletion and restoration of voters, changes to Form 6 and access to the electoral-roll database.

The Election Commission has rejected suggestions of an institutional breakdown, maintaining that differences of opinion, written notes and internal checks are part of the functioning of a multi-member constitutional body. The commission has also maintained that its decisions were taken unanimously.

The proposed CJP protests therefore come at a time of heightened public and political scrutiny of the Election Commission and its handling of electoral rolls.