New Delhi: The 48-hour deadline issued by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar ends today, putting the spotlight on what the organisation will do next if its demand for his resignation is not met.
On Friday, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke had issued a fresh ultimatum to Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his resignation by Saturday. Dipke warned that the party would launch a nationwide agitation to “save democracy” from Mumbai on Gandhi Jayanti (October 2) and subsequently expand the protests to cities across India.
“If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by tomorrow, CJP will begin its nationwide protest from Mumbai on 2 October, and take it to cities across India. This Gandhi Jayanti let’s pledge to save democracy.,” Dipke said in his X post.
Apart from the CEC’s resignation, the CJP also called for criminal proceedings against him. It even demanded that the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls be frozen and the repeal of the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.
The CJP had warned of a nationwide agitation, including a possible “Jantar Mantar 2.0”, if Kumar failed to step down. With the deadline nearing its end, all eyes are now on the CJP’s next move amid the continuing controversy over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The ultimatum came amid a row over reported differences within the three-member Election Commission. A report by The Indian Express said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected multiple times to decisions relating to voter additions and deletions, changes to Form 6 and the centralisation of electoral-roll data.
The Election Commission, however, has said that written notes, observations and differing views are part of the normal deliberative process and maintained that its final decisions, including those related to SIR, were unanimous.