Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of waging a “war against their own countrymen” to protect Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, questioning whether the alleged deletion of over 13 crore voters from electoral rolls amounted to a “setting” to influence election outcomes.
Addressing a press conference alongside All India Students’ Association (AISA) national president Neha Bora, Students’ Federation of India (SFI) leader Aishe Ghosh, All India Students’ Federation national president Viraaj Devang and actor Prakash Raj, among others, Dipke alleged that authorities were suppressing dissent over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and imposing extraordinary restrictions in Delhi to prevent people from joining protests demanding Kumar’s resignation.
Questioning the alleged deletions against the backdrop of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Dipke said, “The margin of victory in 2024 was just 2 per cent. Over 13 crore voters deleted.”
“Where 2 per cent is deciding the election, you are deleting 13 crore votes. What is this if not a setting,” he asked.
The BJP won 240 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats in 2024 with 36.56 per cent of the votes polled, while the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured 293 seats to form the government.
Dipke also accused the government of using state machinery to shield Kumar, questioning the detention of protesters and opposition leaders demanding the poll body chief’s resignation. His remarks came a day after CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were remanded to five days of judicial custody and sent to Tihar Jail.
Dipke alleged that students, young protesters, opposition leaders and former chief ministers had faced detention for demanding action against Kumar. Referring to the detention of opposition leaders and former chief ministers, including Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and Pinarayi Vijayan, he questioned why the government had deployed extensive security measures across the national capital in response to the protests.
“Former chief ministers, MPs, leaders of opposition, all were detained. For the first time in the history of India, the Railways was shut and metros were shut for Gyanesh,” he said, questioning why the government was protecting the Chief Election Commissioner.
He also questioned the deployment of security personnel from Jammu and Kashmir in Delhi, alleging that the scale of the security arrangements had turned the capital into a heavily fortified zone. He criticised the closure of metro stations and restrictions on railway services, arguing that the measures were aimed at preventing people from joining the demonstrations.
Describing the slogan of ‘One Nation, One Election’ as a cover for a different political objective, Dipke said, “‘One Nation, One Election’ was a slogan. The real intention is ‘One Nation, One Party, One Leader’.”
Dipke further criticised the authorities for treating the unfurling of the national flag as a violation of the law, asking why peaceful demonstrations involving the Tricolour had prompted such a response.
“Those who never embraced the tricolour are attacking it. Our comrades were walking in Connaught Place with the tricolour and have all been detained. When did holding the tiranga become a crime,” he asked.
Questioning the Centre’s support for Kumar, Dipke alleged that the protection being extended to the Chief Election Commissioner raised doubts about whether the poll body chief was helping the BJP win elections. These were allegations made by the CJP founder and were not independently established.
The remarks came amid continuing protests by the CJP and opposition parties over alleged irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls and demands for Kumar’s resignation. The Election Commission has defended the revision exercise, while the BJP has rejected allegations of political bias.
Das and Ranka, along with CJP member Ajinkya Shinde, were detained on Tuesday after crossing police barricades, entering Jantar Mantar and raising slogans demanding Kumar’s resignation. The site was recently de-notified as a designated protest venue, with authorities identifying three alternative locations for demonstrations.
The three were booked on charges including obstructing a public official from discharging their duties. A court subsequently remanded Das and Ranka to five days of judicial custody. Shinde was released on a personal bond, CJP legal team head Ratna Singh said in a post on X.
The arrests have drawn criticism from opposition leaders. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi condemned the detention of Das and Ranka, while leaders across several opposition parties also expressed support for the protesters.
In response to the detentions, Dipke announced a ‘Lehra do Tiranga’ march at Central Park in Connaught Place on Friday, October 16, at 5 pm. He urged citizens to join the demonstration, asserting that waving the national flag was a democratic right, and appealed to political parties to participate.
“(Narendra) Modi cannot be bigger than (Mahatma) Gandhi and (Jawaharlal) Nehru,” he added.
Speaking at the press conference, AISA leader Neha Bora expressed solidarity with journalists covering the protests and accused the authorities of harassing media personnel.
Bora alleged that journalists from The Caravan and The Quint had been beaten, dragged away and detained for hours despite carrying press credentials. She further alleged that their cameras had been confiscated and that they had been threatened with the withholding of their equipment if they continued covering the demonstrations.
“We saw how cameras were snatched from journalists and they were told that they would not get the camera if they cover this,” she said.
Bora also alleged that Delhi ACP Vivek Bhagat had sexually harassed a woman journalist and that a counter-FIR was registered against the journalist when she approached the police to file a complaint against him.
Accusing the police of failing to protect people seeking justice, Bora alleged that law enforcement authorities were targeting members of the public instead of maintaining law and order.
“Police, instead of maintaining law and order, crack down on the public. This is a classic example of what we have seen,” she said.
“You send the voice supporting the right to vote to jail. When you drag common people, you are dragging those 13 crore people,” she added.
SFI leader Aishe Ghosh urged citizens to unite to defend democracy, saying she placed her faith in the people rather than the ruling BJP.
“Gyanesh has helped them win the whole country,” she alleged.
“We don't have hopes with the BJP, we have hopes with our citizens. It is time for all of us to unite. The country for which Bhagat Singh fought and Gandhi sacrificed, we have to save this country,” she said.
Ghosh also referred to the treatment of the parents of Ankita Bhandari, a resort receptionist who was murdered in Uttarakhand in 2022, alleging that they had been dragged and treated brutally.
Criticising what she described as the impunity enjoyed by people accused of serious crimes, she said, “Rapists are being garlanded.”
The press conference was briefly disrupted when a reporter allegedly interrupted Bora while she was speaking and began shouting. He was subsequently escorted away.
(With inputs from Agencies)
