Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has announced a nationwide agitation from October 2 over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and greater accountability in the functioning of the Election Commission.
Questioning the revision of electoral rolls, he alleged that the government was deciding who would remain on the voters’ list. He also alleged that the Election Commission was functioning under the influence of the political executive. He also alleged that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls had raised questions about voters’ rights. Dipke also rejected suggestions that the CJP was aligning with the Congress or any other political party.
The CJP’s demands include freezing the 2025 electoral roll, holding elections on its basis and introducing a transparent process for appointing the next Election Commissioner. Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)’s Tejaswi Yadav, Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah and Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary MA Baby were among the leaders from 21 Opposition parties who met in New Delhi on September 30 to chalk out a joint strategy for the next stage of political action against Kumar.
“The CJP’s three principal demands are the resignation of Kumar, freezing of the electoral roll prepared in 2025 and holding elections on the basis of that roll, and a transparent and independent process for appointing the next Election Commissioner, with participation from civil society,” he said. Dipke said that the agitation will continue until Kumar resigns. “People have completely lost faith in the electoral process,” Dipke said. “There is only an illusion of democracy right now,” he said. “We are not joining hands with any political party,” he said.
Earlier reporting noted: Also Read | ‘Istifa Janata Party’: Union minister Athawale targets CJP over demands for CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation Dipke on Thursday said the agitation will begin with a protest in Mumbai on Gandhi Jayanti and will subsequently be taken to different parts of the country before culminating in a sit-in at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
