CJP Vows Daily Jantar Mantar Marches Until Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar Is Removed
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Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and student organisations have vowed daily protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar until Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resigns or is removed, following mass detentions during a protest against alleged electoral irregularities.
CJP leader Ajinkya Shinde announced the plan on Saturday, October 10, as the party’s founder, Abhijeet Dipke, and other leaders remained in detention following a police crackdown in the national capital.
The protesters have accused the Election Commission of colluding with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and raised allegations of “vote chori”. The allegations have been disputed by the BJP, which has defended the Chief Election Commissioner and the electoral process.
Over 5,000 Detained During Delhi Protest Crackdown
More than 5,000 people were detained across Delhi on Saturday after police moved to stop a gathering at Jantar Mantar, citing the denial of permission for the protest.
Those detained included four former chief ministers: Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, Trinamool Congress founder Mamata Banerjee, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar.
CJP founder Dipke was detained along with party leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das. CJP representatives alleged that protesters had been mistreated and said they were initially unaware of where some detained leaders had been taken.
Student Organisations Announce Wider Protests
Srijan Bhattacharyya, general secretary of the Students’ Federation of India, called for wider unity against the government and said student protests would spread to different parts of the country from Sunday.
He said demonstrators would protest peacefully and turn locations where police blocked them into alternative protest sites.
The Congress-led INDIA bloc has also announced a protest for Monday. Rahul Gandhi said opposition leaders were scheduled to meet Chief Justice of India
Surya Kant at the Supreme Court to submit a memorandum.
INDIA Bloc Lists Demands Over Voter Rolls and Election Law
The INDIA bloc submitted a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu on Friday, setting out four demands.
These included Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, repeal of the 2023 law granting immunity to the Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners, suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and restoration of 13.3 crore deleted voters, as claimed by the bloc.
The memorandum also called for a return to paper ballots and the repeal of Assembly election results from the past two years in constituencies where the bloc claims conclusive evidence of electoral malpractice exists.
BJP Defends Election Commission
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad defended Gyanesh Kumar and the SIR exercise, arguing that democratic institutions and Parliament should guide the country rather than street protests.
Meanwhile, police said security arrangements would continue in Delhi on Sunday following the large-scale detentions. The opposition and protest groups have indicated that they intend to continue their campaign over electoral transparency and the conduct of the Election Commission.
