CJP demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation within 48 hours, warns of ‘Jantar Mantar 2.0’

Guwahati: The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Thursday demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar within 48 hours and warned of a nationwide agitation if he does not step down.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke announced the ultimatum at a press conference in New Delhi, where the organisation accused the Election Commission of undermining voters’ rights. He said the proposed agitation would include a fresh protest in Delhi, which he referred to as “Jantar Mantar 2.0”.

The CJP’s demands come a day after a report in The Indian Express detailed repeated objections reportedly raised by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over issues related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Dipke said the CJP would begin a nationwide protest if Kumar does not resign within 48 hours. He alleged that the electoral process had been compromised and that voters’ rights are being undermined.

Three demands

CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka outlined three demands at the press conference.

The first is Kumar’s resignation and the initiation of criminal proceedings against him.

Second, an immediate halt to all upcoming elections and restoration of the pre-SIR electoral rolls across all states. The organisation also called for an independent inquiry into the SIR exercise and sought the transfer of all related decision-making records to the Supreme Court.

The third demand is the repeal of the 2023 law governing the appointment of the CEC and other Election Commissioners. The CJP called for a new law involving civil society groups in the appointment process.

Dipke also urged Opposition parties to take a position on what he described as election rigging, arguing that parties should not participate in elections while simultaneously questioning their conduct.

The CJP’s demands follow the reported objections within the Election Commission over the SIR exercise. According to The Indian Express expose, the two Election Commissioners had raised concerns at least 14 times over 10 months over electoral-roll management and related decisions.

The Election Commission has maintained that such written observations and differing views are a normal part of deliberations within a multi-member constitutional body and that its decisions, including those relating to the SIR, were taken unanimously.