Resign By Tomorrow Or Face Oct 2 Protests: CJP Escalates Demand Against CEC Gyanesh Kumar

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

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said the agitation would begin in Mumbai on Gandhi Jayanti and later be taken to cities across the country. In a post on X, he wrote, “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.”

Resignation Ultimatum

The announcement came a day after Dipke demanded Kumar’s resignation and threatened a “Jantar Mantar 2.0” agitation if the CEC did not step down within 48 hours.

Dipke also criticised Opposition parties for continuing to contest elections while alleging that the electoral process was being manipulated.

He said participating in what he described as “rigged elections” legitimised the process and maintained the appearance that elections were free and fair. He also questioned whether Opposition parties continued to contest polls because they feared losing political relevance.

Election Commission Row

The CJP’s announcement comes amid a dispute over the functioning of the Election Commission.

An Indian Express investigation reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders they said were taken without their knowledge. The objections covered issues including voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, changes to Form 6 and the functioning of the voter database.

The two commissioners also raised their concerns with the Cabinet Secretary, according to the investigation.

The Election Commission, however, has maintained that decisions taken by the poll panel, including those related to the Special Intensive Revision, had the approval of all three election commissioners.