Security was tightened around Mumbai’s Shivaji Park and Dadar railway station on Friday ahead of a 4 pm protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, despite police denying permission. Additional personnel and barricades were deployed, while some residents opposed the protest over disruption concerns.
Meanwhile, more than 500 protesters, including AAP leaders Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Sanjeev Jha and Sanjay Singh, and student activists were detained during a demonstration at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Police had denied permission and imposed restrictions in the area.
The protests stem from controversy over the Election Commission’s handling of electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has accused Kumar of undermining voters’ rights and demanded his resignation and greater transparency in the appointment of the CEC.
The immediate trigger was a report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders related to electoral-roll management. Some of the reported objections concerned voter additions, deletions, restoration and registration procedures, with the commissioners reportedly stating in some instances that orders had been issued without their knowledge.
The Election Commission has rejected suggestions of a split within the three-member poll panel and maintained that decisions, including those concerning the SIR exercise, were taken unanimously. The poll panel has also disputed allegations of electoral manipulation.
The CJP has demanded that the 2025 voter list be frozen and has called for greater transparency and civil-society participation in the appointment of the CEC.
The party has said it will take the campaign to several states, including Goa, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, before a proposed protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi later this month if its demands are not met.
