CJP stresses non-violence, urges citizens to join Oct 10 Delhi protest

MUMBAI: The CJP on Saturday stressed that its proposed October 10 protest in Delhi would be peaceful and urged every citizen seeking free and fair elections to join the agitation if Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar does not resign.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has been demanding Kumar’s resignation, citing alleged irregularities in the electoral processes and the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

In a statement released here on Saturday, CJP founder and convener Abhijeet Dipke said citizens and movement members from every corner of the country would converge in New Delhi and launch a mass protest at Jantar Mantar if Kumar did not step down.

“If Gyanesh Kumar doesn’t resign, cockroaches from across India will march to Delhi and protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10,” Dipke said. “And if the Delhi Police tries to stop us, wherever they stop us will become our Jantar Mantar. Ours will be a peaceful protest. We will walk on the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi,” he said.

The Delhi protest would “strictly follow a non-violent philosophy”, drawing “structural inspiration from historic civil disobedience to protect public faith in democratic institutions”, according to the statement.

The CJP leadership said “bureaucratic blockades” would not deter the movement, pointing to previous prolonged demonstrations and recent detentions as proof of its resolve. “This is a fight to save our democracy,” Dipke said. “Every citizen who wants free and fair elections must join us on October 10.”

The statement followed a protest held by the CJP at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on Friday, where thousands of people gathered despite police restrictions to demand Kumar’s resignation over the alleged electoral roll irregularities. The Mumbai protest also featured calls for a fresh agitation in Delhi if Kumar did not step down.