The party organised a protest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park, scheduled to begin at 4 pm, and called for Kumar’s resignation.
Leaders of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) on Friday said they were prepared to go to jail if necessary to demand accountability from Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of “vote theft”.
CJP chief Abhijeet Dipke had earlier announced the agitation, accusing the CEC of failing to protect voters’ rights. Das also alleged that workers linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had attempted to disrupt the planned protest. The protest was planned amid the CJP’s demands for accountability over alleged voter deletions and its call for the Chief Election Commissioner’s resignation.
“Today is the auspicious day of Gandhi Jayanti, and I appeal to the youth of the country to unite once again, just as they did during Jantar Mantar 1.0.
The party’s leaders said the Mumbai protest would mark the beginning of a nationwide campaign against alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. Speaking to IANS, CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka said the leaders would not retreat until their demands were met. “If going to jail can bring back the votes of 13 crore people, and if going to jail can ensure accountability for Gyanesh Kumar, then we are absolutely ready to go to jail,” Ranka said. CJP co-convener Saurav Das said the party had chosen Mumbai as the starting point for its next phase of agitation after witnessing a strong public response to earlier protests against then-Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. It should be a grand agitation aimed at saving the country,” he said. He said the party had collected photographs of those allegedly involved. The party said it intended to extend the agitation beyond Mumbai through a nationwide campaign.
