The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has announced that it will mobilize a nationwide march in New Delhi next weekend unless Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resigns.
The call followed a protest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park that attracted thousands of demonstrators despite police refusing to allow the gathering.
A similar protest at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar saw several opposition politicians and student leaders arrested on Friday, which is also celebrated as Gandhi Jayanti to honor the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, a global pioneer of non-violence.
“If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign, cockroaches from all over India will come to Delhi and protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10,” CJP founder and organizer Abhijeet Dipke said in the statement.
“And if the Delhi Police tries to stop us, wherever they stop us, it will become our Jantar Mantar. Our protest will be peaceful. We will walk on the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi.”
Calling on people to join the march to preserve free and fair elections in the country, Dipke called the march “a fight to save our democracy.”
The announcement followed a tense day on October 2, when Delhi Police arrested more than 700 protesters, including former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, from Jantar Mantar and surrounding areas, local media reported.
Police had denied permission for the rally in Delhi and imposed restrictions under Section 163 banning gatherings of more than five people.
The CJP-led rally in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park also saw a large turnout, including film actors and musicians, but did not face such a violent crackdown by authorities.
It’s the latest flashpoint in a months-long movement that began as online satire in May and escalated into repeated street protests, including a July 20 protest in which Delhi police used batons to disperse crowds. This led to the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, then India’s education minister, in late July.
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