Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke called for a nationwide protest against India’s Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls after a demonstration in Bengaluru. He demanded that the process be scrapped and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign, alleging that it targets voters who oppose the BJP.
The Associated Press reported that thousands of movement supporters and several student groups demonstrated in Bengaluru on Thursday against the voter-roll revision. The rally was part of a campaign in which opposition politicians and civil-society groups are calling for the election chief’s resignation.
Dipke alleged that the SIR was designed to remove voters who do not support the BJP. He also claimed that 1.07 crore, or 10.7 million, names had been deleted in Karnataka and that living people were recorded as dead. The material cited here does not independently substantiate those allegations or show that removals targeted supporters of a particular party.
The CJP founder called for a “Dilli Chalo” march to Jantar Mantar, a protest site in New Delhi. Party spokesperson Saurav Das told The Hindu that participants were prepared for detention and would continue demonstrating until their demands were met.
Asked whether the mobilisation could destabilise the country, Dipke compared the protest to Mahatma Gandhi’s satyagraha. He also alleged that the use of batons and tear gas against 15-year-old participants would be destabilising, while peaceful protest would not. His statements reflect the organisers’ position, not an established finding about the Election Commission’s conduct.