'This Fight Not Going To Be Easy': CJP Calls For October 10 Protest

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Wednesday called on supporters across the country to gather at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on October 10, saying its agitation would continue beyond Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation until reforms were made to the electoral system.

Co-convener Saurav Das said the group had formally informed Delhi Police about the proposed demonstration and the large turnout it expected. At a joint press conference with student organisations, he urged supporters to prepare for a prolonged protest.

“This fight is not going to be easy. I appeal to everyone across the country to join us, book train and flight tickets,” Das said.

CJP Submits Intimation To Delhi Police

Das said he had handed a letter to officials at Parliament Street police station, requesting arrangements for traffic and law and order.

“We have submitted the formal notification and have received the acknowledgement copy from the Delhi Police. Based on our discussions, they also obtained an undertaking from us, and we completed all the required formalities for it. We hope the Delhi Police will cooperate,” he said.

He disputed describing the submission as a request for permission.

“Please don't use the word permission. Who is Delhi Police to give us permission?” Das said, asserting that an intimation was sufficient.

His account of the submission did not establish that police had authorised the gathering.

Resignation Alone Will Not End Agitation

The protest call centres on alleged irregularitie

s in the Election Commission’s handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Das said removing Kumar would not address the group’s wider concerns.

“Even if Gyanesh Kumar resigns, we will not bow down. We want proper reforms in election commission,” he said.

CJP described its three demands as “non-negotiable”: Kumar’s resignation and the initiation of criminal proceedings against him; a freeze on SIR, suspension of upcoming elections, restoration of the January 2025 voters’ list and an independent inquiry; and repeal of the 2023 law governing Election Commission appointments in favour of an independent, credible selection process.

Das urged supporters to remain until those demands were addressed.

“Pack your bags. It will be a long fight,” he said.

Student Groups Call For United Mobilisation

Representatives of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), All India Students’ Federation (AISF), Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the Aam Aadmi Party’s student wing, Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP), attended the press conference.

The organisations supported the October 6 march by INDIA bloc MPs towards the Election Commission headquarters and called for broader participation in the upcoming demonstration.

AISA president Neha Bora said the student campaign and the Opposition’s protests were pursuing a common objective.

“There are no divisions. We, the people of India, versus the BJP. If we lead this fight unitedly, we will do it effectively,” she said.

Bora argued that elected representatives had a responsibility to raise public concerns through street protests. She also urged those associated with the BJP to leave the party.

“If ever there was a time to desert the BJP, it is now,” she said.

SFI’s Adarsh Shaji accused Kumar of undermining Indian democracy, describing the campaign as a fight between “democracy and autocracy”.

Organisers Seek To Move Past Differences

The appeal for a joint mobilisation followed an online dispute between CJP and sections aligned with the Congress. Das said differences in political affiliations and ideology would not prevent the participating organisations from working together.

He described the campaign as an effort to change a “broken system” and reiterated the group’s “Dilli Chalo” call for October 10.