CJP Mumbai protest highlights: ‘Will not back down’ till CEC Gyanesh Kumar resigns, says Ashutosh Ranka

CJP Mumbai protest LIVE: CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka on Monday said the outfit was seeking to expand its base across the Northeastern states and had been receiving positive responses.

He said the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) would focus on issues concerning students and youth in the region and provide them a platform to raise their concerns.

"The CJP will reach out to all Northeast states, and the response has been good so far. The Northeast is important for us," Ranka said, a day after Assam Police detained him and more than 40 other CJP members for around 10 hours ahead of a volunteers' meet-up here.

Ranka said people in the Northeast were looking for a platform that would take up issues concerning students and youth, and the CJP would offer that alternative.

CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka on Monday asserted that the outfit would not back down from its demand for the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over the alleged exclusion of 13 crore names from electoral rolls and challenged him to clear the allegations against him before the press and the public.

Ranka claimed that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) had "defrauded" 13 crore people by removing their names from electoral rolls and questioned why the BJP was "defending" Kumar over the allegations.

"For 48 hours, the ball was in Kumar's court; now it is in CJP's court. We will start our nationwide protest on October 2, and we won't back down till he resigns. CJP is a platform which, if it gets involved in any matter, doesn't let go of it until we win," Ranka told reporters here.

Via PTI

CJP Mumbai protest LIVE: The Himachal Pradesh Congress on Monday launched a statewide protest against the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI), demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and action against him over what the party alleged were arbitrary and undemocratic decisions concerning the electoral process.

Congress district units staged demonstrations at all 12 district headquarters in Himachal Pradesh and submitted memoranda addressed to the President of India through the respective Deputy Commissioners.

Congress workers held a nationwide protest on Monday against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

In Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari questioned public trust in the electoral process.

Patwari said trust was behind every choice people made and alleged that doubts had emerged over the election process.

“When Prime Minister Modi became Prime Minister for the first time, we accepted that there might have been some shortcomings on our part. The Constitution became a topic of discussion during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP lost 70 seats in the process, and the atmosphere was not in their favour; yet, they formed the government,” he said.

Patwari said suspicions arose when it appeared that the election was being “stolen”, and referred to allegations of EVM tampering.

Sharing an example from his own booth, Patwari said, “There wasn't a single BJP worker at my booth, yet the BJP received 300 votes.”

He questioned the impact of losing public trust in a democracy.

“In a democracy, if trust is lost, then who will the public place their faith in?” Patwari said.

Meanwhile, in Jaipur, Rajasthan, Congress workers also held a protest against the Election Commission over the SIR exercise. Visuals from the demonstration showed party workers raising slogans and participating in the protest.

The protests were part of the Congress' countrywide demonstrations against CEC Kumar, with the party demanding his resignation and raising objections to the SIR exercise.

In Srinagar, Congress MP Pawan Khera alleged that the election mandate was being “stolen” and termed the SIR exercise “completely illegal”.

"This protest is ongoing across the country. CEC deceived this country; election mandates are being stolen. SIR is completely illegal. For an amendment to Form 6, it needs to be brought to Parliament. But it wasn't done. So, SIR becomes illegal. If SIR is illegal, all additions and deletions are illegal. There is outrage across the country. Everyone wants to protest. Gyanesh Kumar should be sacked to save the country," he told ANI.

In Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Congress president Ajay Rai said, “Our protest against Gyanesh Kumar is happening countrywide. People in every corner of Uttar Pradesh have definitely woken up to the fact that such corrupt people are conducting elections."

Akhilesh Yadav launched a direct attack on the BJP, saying that without “removing” the saffron party, “you can't remove anyone.”

“It is the root cause of all the evil,” the SP chief said.

Akhilesh said that the US and Germany, which are such advanced countries, don't accept EVMs.

He asked: “Are they wrong?

SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav has said that his party will oppose the use of EVMs“even if we win all seats”. He also voiced support for CJP's October 2 protest call against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said in a post on X that the “judiciary is as much to blame for electoral fraud as Gyanesh Kumar”.

CJP spokesperson Ashuosh Ranka, who was released from detention in Assam, said the organisation's founder Abhijeet Dipke had initially planned to travel to the state following the detention but was now focusing on preparations for CJP's proposed October 2 protest over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and its demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

The Congress' Haryana unit will stage demonstrations across all district headquarters on Monday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

According to senior Congress leader and the party's Haryana affairs in-charge Sanjay Dutt, the party will organise the protest at all district headquarters, led by senior party leaders across the state.

On September 25, Dipke had said, "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."

His remarks come amid mounting criticism from Opposition parties over the functioning of the poll panel following an investigative report by The Indian Express, which said that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures related to the SIR exercise. The report said the two Election Commissioners had raised objections over certain decisions and orders issued without their knowledge.

Jail Bharo Andolan is a form of protest where large numbers of people voluntarily court arrest to overwhelm and overcrowd the local prison system to highlight their cause.

CJP founder asked Mumbai police how Maharashtra deputy CM Eknath Shinde got permission to hold a rall at Shivaji Park after his pressure group was denied nod.
He wrote in reply to Mumbai police on X, “Acha… how was Eknath Shinde granted the permission then?”

The formal communication issued by Shivaji Park police station said the police department is not empowered to grant permission for public gatherings at the ground under existing orders of the High Court and subsequent state government guidelines.

The communication also highlighted that the applicant failed to submit the mandatory permission letter from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the ground's usage.