Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Thursday gave Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar 48 hours to resign, warning that it would launch protests across India if he failed to do so. The outfit also demanded that all upcoming state Assembly elections be frozen, as it held a press conference in New Delhi following the Indian Express investigation into dissent between the Election Commissioners.
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CJP founder and convenor Abhijeet Dipke told journalists that his outfit would hold a sit-in protest in New Delhi and also across the nation.
CJP co-convenor Saurav Das laid out three demands — the resignation of the CEC, criminal proceedings against Gyanesh Kumar and those who allegedly directed him, and a freeze on all upcoming elections. The outfit also demanded that the SIR be rolled back to the 2025 electoral roll, that the SIR-related files be placed under the custody of a Supreme Court-led committee, and that the law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners be repealed.
The demands came a day after The Indian Express newspaper’s investigation reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over decisions and actions within the poll panel. The Election Commission has said that differing views, written observations and internal checks and balances are a normal part of deliberations, and that decisions over the past year, including the SIR, were unanimous.
The controversy has also reached the doorstep of the Supreme Court. Advocate Brajesh Singh has sought Attorney General R Venkataramani’s consent to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that bypassing the other two Election Commissioners violated Supreme Court rulings requiring the poll panel to function as a multi-member body, with the CEC as “primus inter pares”, or first among equals, reported The Hindu.
CJP activists said that while visiting government schools across the country as part of their “School Thik Karo” (Fix the School) campaign, they were increasingly being told by local residents that “vote chori” had now become a bigger issue. “People are demanding that we fight against the irregularities going on in the ECI,” CJP co-convenor Saurav Das said.
The CJP also alleged that the BJP’s vote share had surged in several states since Gyanesh Kumar was appointed Chief Election Commissioner. “The BJP couldn’t get such vote shares even during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s peak era,” Dipke said, adding, “Gyanesh Kumar has worked hard to get the BJP the vote share that even PM Modi couldn’t achieve.”
CJP founder and convenor Abhijeet Dipke alleged that Gyanesh Kumar was acting on the instructions of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “I think CEC Gyanesh Kumar works under the instructions of Union Home Minister Amit Shah,” Dipke told journalists in New Delhi. CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka said there was a need to “hit the streets” and appealed to Gen Z and other social groups to join the proposed protests.
CJP had earlier staged a massive agitation at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and other alleged irregularities in the education system. The outfit’s 49-day-long protest ended with BJP MP Dharmendra Pradhan resigning as Union Education Minister in July.
Following the youth-led agitation in the national capital, the CJP launched a nationwide campaign to push for reforms in government schools under the banner “School Thik Karo”.
The outfit has now turned its focus to the Election Commission, issuing an ultimatum to CEC Gyanesh Kumar and threatening nationwide protests if he does not resign within 48 hours.
CJP co-convenor Ashuthosh Ranka alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) currently being conducted by the ECI in 16 states and Union Territories was being used as a political tool to benefit the BJP.
“The BJP and the ECI are using SIR as a weapon. BJP-ruled states have also announced that welfare benefits will be linked to the SIR. Those who lose their names from the electoral rolls will not get the benefits,” Ranka said at the press briefing.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
