CJP notifies police of October 10 protest
The Cockroach Janta Party has formally notified Delhi Police of its planned October 10 protest at Jantar Mantar, as the youth-led group presses ahead with a demonstration over electoral rolls and demands the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
CJP co-convenor and spokesperson Saurav Das submitted an intimation letter at Parliament Street police station on Wednesday, saying the organisation wanted to ensure there could be no later dispute over whether police had been informed. Police have not granted permission for the proposed gathering, according to accounts of the exchange.
Das said young people from across the country were expected to participate and maintained that the demonstration would focus on the right to vote, the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and broader demands for electoral accountability. He said CJP intended to cooperate with police over arrangements and expected law-enforcement authorities to facilitate a peaceful protest.
The distinction between intimation and permission has emerged as an immediate point of contention. Das questioned why police approval should determine whether citizens could demonstrate at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest venue, arguing that the police role should centre on security, traffic management and public order.
Security was tightened around Parliament Street police station before Das arrived to submit the letter, with barricades placed in the area. The precaution came amid heightened tension in central Delhi following successive demonstrations against the Election Commission and Kumar over the nationwide voter-roll revision.
CJP has said the October 10 mobilisation will remain peaceful. Founder Abhijeet Dipke announced the Delhi programme after the organisation's October 2 demonstration at Shivaji Park in Mumbai, saying supporters from across the country would gather at Jantar Mantar if Kumar did not resign. The group has called on citizens concerned about free and fair elections to participate.
The planned protest comes as scrutiny of the Special Intensive Revision intensifies. The Election Commission has defended the exercise as a mechanism to maintain accurate electoral rolls, while opposition parties, activists and CJP have challenged deletions and procedures used during the revision. The Commission's voter portal continues to provide facilities for registration, searching names and submitting documents connected with the 2026 SIR.
The controversy has also reached the Supreme Court. The court this week sought clarity on decision-making within the three-member Election Commission and indicated that actions not conforming to law could be set aside. Questions before the court include aspects of the SIR process and whether decisions attributed to the Commission followed the legally required institutional procedure.
Separately, the Election Commission has instructed states and Union Territories where the revision has been completed to undertake a special drive for eligible voters left out of the rolls. That step has become part of the wider debate over deletions, re-enrolment and safeguards for eligible electors.
CJP leaders have also alleged pressure on supporters intending to travel to Delhi. Dipke said volunteers in Maharashtra had received police notices seeking information about their proposed journey and funding and discouraging participation. A notice issued by Ballarpur police in Chandrapur on October 5 under Section 168 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita referred to a supporter's proposed travel to New Delhi.
Chandrapur Superintendent of Police Mummaka Sudarshan rejected suggestions that the notices represented intimidation, saying such preventive notices were routinely issued before protests to maintain law and order. CJP has disputed that explanation and accused authorities of trying to deter participation.
The Delhi mobilisation is being organised against a backdrop of demonstrations in the capital over the Election Commission. Opposition MPs led by Rahul Gandhi attempted to march from Parliament Street towards the poll panel's headquarters on Tuesday, demanding Kumar's resignation over alleged irregularities in voter lists. Police blocked the march, and several leaders were detained after a prolonged protest.
CJP co-convenor and spokesperson Saurav Das submitted an intimation letter at Parliament Street police station on Wednesday, saying the organisation wanted to ensure there could be no later dispute over whether police had been informed. Police have not granted permission for the proposed gathering, according to accounts of the exchange.
Das said young people from across the country were expected to participate and maintained that the demonstration would focus on the right to vote, the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and broader demands for electoral accountability. He said CJP intended to cooperate with police over arrangements and expected law-enforcement authorities to facilitate a peaceful protest.
The distinction between intimation and permission has emerged as an immediate point of contention. Das questioned why police approval should determine whether citizens could demonstrate at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest venue, arguing that the police role should centre on security, traffic management and public order.
Security was tightened around Parliament Street police station before Das arrived to submit the letter, with barricades placed in the area. The precaution came amid heightened tension in central Delhi following successive demonstrations against the Election Commission and Kumar over the nationwide voter-roll revision.
CJP has said the October 10 mobilisation will remain peaceful. Founder Abhijeet Dipke announced the Delhi programme after the organisation's October 2 demonstration at Shivaji Park in Mumbai, saying supporters from across the country would gather at Jantar Mantar if Kumar did not resign. The group has called on citizens concerned about free and fair elections to participate.
The planned protest comes as scrutiny of the Special Intensive Revision intensifies. The Election Commission has defended the exercise as a mechanism to maintain accurate electoral rolls, while opposition parties, activists and CJP have challenged deletions and procedures used during the revision. The Commission's voter portal continues to provide facilities for registration, searching names and submitting documents connected with the 2026 SIR.
The controversy has also reached the Supreme Court. The court this week sought clarity on decision-making within the three-member Election Commission and indicated that actions not conforming to law could be set aside. Questions before the court include aspects of the SIR process and whether decisions attributed to the Commission followed the legally required institutional procedure.
Separately, the Election Commission has instructed states and Union Territories where the revision has been completed to undertake a special drive for eligible voters left out of the rolls. That step has become part of the wider debate over deletions, re-enrolment and safeguards for eligible electors.
CJP leaders have also alleged pressure on supporters intending to travel to Delhi. Dipke said volunteers in Maharashtra had received police notices seeking information about their proposed journey and funding and discouraging participation. A notice issued by Ballarpur police in Chandrapur on October 5 under Section 168 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita referred to a supporter's proposed travel to New Delhi.
Chandrapur Superintendent of Police Mummaka Sudarshan rejected suggestions that the notices represented intimidation, saying such preventive notices were routinely issued before protests to maintain law and order. CJP has disputed that explanation and accused authorities of trying to deter participation.
The Delhi mobilisation is being organised against a backdrop of demonstrations in the capital over the Election Commission. Opposition MPs led by Rahul Gandhi attempted to march from Parliament Street towards the poll panel's headquarters on Tuesday, demanding Kumar's resignation over alleged irregularities in voter lists. Police blocked the march, and several leaders were detained after a prolonged protest.