India’s youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has threatened to launch protests across the country if Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by Saturday.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said the movement would begin its protest campaign in Mumbai on October 2 and later spread to other 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,” Dipke said in a post on X.
The group has demanded Kumar’s resignation following a report by The Indian Express that two election commissioners had raised questions or expressed concerns about the handling of voter-list updates on at least 14 occasions over a 10-month period.
The report has added to an already heated political dispute over India’s electoral rolls. Opposition parties have accused the Election Commission of deleting voters’ names and adding new voters without proper verification, alleging that such changes could benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to Al Jazeera, the CJP emerged on social media in May as a satirical youth movement after India’s chief justice used the terms “cockroaches” and “parasites” while referring to unemployed young people. The group has since moved beyond social media and organised street protests over issues including education and electoral concerns.
The Congress party on Friday organised protest marches at election offices in several parts of India, demanding Kumar’s removal and an independent review of decisions relating to voter-list changes.
The Election Commission has rejected allegations of wrongdoing, saying differences of opinion among officials are part of normal institutional deliberations and that its actions have been lawful.
The BJP has also defended the election panel. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra accused the opposition of running a campaign against the commission because of its electoral defeats.
The CJP has previously led protests over examination paper leaks. The July protests were followed by the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, marking one of the major political setbacks for the Modi government in recent years.
The latest mobilization is planned for October 2, which marks Gandhi Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. Dipke has called on supporters to use the occasion to “save democracy”.
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