CJP threatens ‘Jantar Mantar 2.0’ in Delhi, demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation

Mumbai: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) convenor Abhijeet Dipke on Friday, October 2, warned that the party would launch a “Chalo Delhi” campaign and bring young protesters to the national capital if Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar did not resign.

Speaking at a protest at Shivaji Park in Mumbai, Dipke said, “If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign, the Gen Z of the entire nation will go to Delhi. There will be Jantar Mantar 2.0.”

He also criticised Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the alleged police action against protesters during the earlier Jantar Mantar agitation. “Do not order a lathicharge this time. You made that mistake on July 20 by ordering a lathicharge on children,” he said, adding that if the “mistake” was repeated, the next resignation would be Shah’s.

“If you want to engage in goondaism, become a goonda, not the Home Minister,” Dipke said. He contrasted the Mumbai Police with the Delhi Police, saying Mumbai police personnel had offered him tea and asked him to leave instead of detaining him.

Dipke accused the Narendra Modi-led central government of being “incompetent” and said the party was forced to hold another protest within two months of the Jantar Mantar agitation over the NEET paper leak issue. He also dared Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to send the protesters to jail.

CJP leader Ajinkya Shinde demanded that the 2025 electoral rolls be frozen, the 2023 law on the appointment of election commissioners be repealed, and criminal action be taken against Gyanesh Kumar.

The protest followed media reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to decisions and orders related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, some of which they said were issued without their knowledge.

Protesters carried placards with slogans such as “Gyanesh BRO, JUST RESIGN” and “Gaddaar Gyaanu Must Go”. The CJP also posted on X: “Gyanesh bro! Just resign ya.”

Some media reports claimed that CJP protesters were assaulted by Bajrang Dal workers while leaving Shivaji Park. Mumbai Police, however, denied that any such incident had occurred. “The situation is peaceful, and the crowd has returned,” a police official was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

The protest received support from several public figures. Actor Prakash Raj, in a video message, said certain “goons” were attempting to destroy citizenship and democracy through the SIR, but that the country’s youth and civil society would not allow it. Music composer Vishal Dadlani and actors Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah also joined the protest.

Dipke earlier paid floral tributes to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in South Mumbai to mark Gandhi Jayanti.

However, the protest drew criticism from some local residents, who said it disrupted peace and daily life in the area. A group called “Gen Next Mumbai” also held a separate protest against the CJP, accusing Dipke of speaking about dismantling the Constitution and saying it had gathered to defend it peacefully.

In Latur, a group of students protested against Dipke, accusing him of moving away from the NEET paper leak issue. They sought answers on the assurances they said the government had made after the CJP’s July agitation at Jantar Mantar.