CJP denies Abhijeet Dipke's detention reports ahead of Mumbai protest: ‘As fake as Gyanesh Kumar holding fair elections’

The CJP is set to lead a protest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park at 4 pm today, demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and changes to the SIR process.

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The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Friday rubbished a report claiming its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, was detained by Mumbai police at Marine Drive, hours before the group's planned protest against chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Gandhi Jayanti.

The national pressure group took a swipe at Kumar while rejecting the report. “This news is as fake as CEC Gyanesh Kumar conducting free and fair elections,” the CJP wrote on X.

Dipke also posted a selfie inside a car in response to the report, which claimed that he was taken to the Marine Drive police station on Thursday after being spotted holding placards along the iconic promenade.

According to the report, Dipke gathered at Marine Drive with a group of supporters when a police team, including a woman inspector, approached him and escorted him to the police station in a van. The officer also asked him about his identity and hometown during the journey, the press report said. After being asked to meet senior officials, the CJP founder was reported to have exited the police station minutes later.

ALSO READ | CJP to launch nationwide protest from Oct 2, seeks Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation

This comes ahead of its planned agitation in Mumbai on October 2, demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and accountability in the functioning of the Election Commission of India (EC).

CJP’s October 2 protest in Mumbai

The CJP has announced a protest at 4 pm on Friday at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park, near Gate No. 6, as part of a nationwide agitation against the EC.

The campaign is scheduled to begin in Mumbai on Gandhi Jayanti before moving to different parts of the country and culminating in a sit-in at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

Dipke has said the agitation will continue until Kumar resigns, arguing that public confidence in the electoral process has been eroded.

ALSO READ | CJP's Mumbai protest today: Besides CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation, what are their other demands

What are CJP’s demands?

The CJP has outlined three principal demands: the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, freezing the electoral roll prepared in 2025 and holding elections on the basis of that roll, and establishing a transparent and independent process for appointing the next Election Commissioner, with civil society participation.

The party has also raised concerns about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that large-scale deletions could affect citizens’ voting rights.

Dipke has claimed that around 13 crore voters have been deleted from electoral rolls since 2024. He has linked the alleged deletions to the close vote-share difference between the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition INDIA bloc in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He said that changes to electoral rolls could have implications for election outcomes.

ALSO READ | ECI removes extra SIR declaration from Form 6 in states where revision is complete

Row over ECI’s functioning

The CJP’s upcoming protest comes amid a row over the functioning of the ECI following a report in The Indian Express that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures linked to the SIR exercise.

The report has fuelled questions about decision-making within the poll panel.

The EC has maintained that its decisions, including those concerning the SIR, were taken through the prescribed institutional process.

Dipke has alleged that the EC is functioning under the influence of the political executive and has questioned the manner in which electoral rolls are being revised.

ALSO READ | Opposition may put on hold motion to remove CEC Gyanesh Kumar over Election Commission row

Opposition steps up pressure

The CJP’s agitation comes as Opposition parties intensify their efforts against Kumar over the Election Commission’s functioning.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah and CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby were among leaders from 21 Opposition parties who met in New Delhi on September 30 to discuss a joint strategy for the next phase of political action.

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