Nationwide protests from Oct 2 if CEC doesn't resign by Saturday: CJP's Dipke

Dipke said CJP would begin its protest from Mumbai on Gandhi Jayanti

NEW DELHI: CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke on Friday said that the party would launch nationwide protests from October 2 if Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by Saturday.In a post on X, Dipke said CJP would begin its protest from Mumbai on Gandhi Jayanti and subsequently take the agitation to cities across India."If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by tomorrow, CJP will begin its nationwide protest from Mumbai on 2 October, and take it to cities across India. This Gandhi Jayanti let’s pledge to save democracy," Dipke wrote.

The announcement came a day after Dipke demanded Kumar's resignation and threatened to launch a "Jantar Mantar 2.0" agitation if his demand was not met.Dipke also criticised opposition parties for continuing to contest elections while alleging that the electoral process was being rigged. He argued that participating in such elections legitimises them and creates an "illusion" that they are free and fair.

"Yes, elections are being rigged. But when you continue to participate in rigged elections, you legitimise these elections and help maintain the illusion that they are free and fair," he said.

He questioned whether opposition parties were contesting elections because they feared political extinction if they stayed away.Dipke further accused opposition parties of raising allegations of electoral manipulation selectively, depending on the state or political party involved.The CJP founder's remarks came amid a row over the functioning of the Election Commission. The Indian Express had reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders concerning voter additions, deletions, restoration and changes to the voter registration process.EC has maintained that decisions, including those related to SIR, had been unanimous and approved by both election commissioners and the chief election commissioner.