CJP To Seek Jantar Mantar Protest Date; Mamata, Akhilesh Among INDIA Bloc Leaders Set To Join March

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders, including Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, will visit the Parliament Street Police Station at 10 am on Monday to seek a date for a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

CJP To Seek Date For Peaceful Protest

CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka said on Sunday that he and other party leaders would approach Delhi Police on Monday to request a date for a peaceful demonstration at Jantar Mantar. The move comes a day after three senior CJP leaders were released following their detention at Delhi airport.

In a post on X, Ranka said he, Das and the party’s legal head, Ratna Singh, would visit the Parliament Street Police Station at 10 am to seek a date for the protest.

“Delhi Police can give us a date for Jantar Mantar in 24 hours, else the CJP will give another protest call,” Ranka said.

Opposition’s March To Supreme Court

Opposition parties are set to march to the Supreme Court on Monday. Rahul Gandhi and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge have sought a meeting with Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant to raise allegations of “vote chori”. However, the CJI declined to meet Rahul Gandhi over the allegations.

People familiar with the matter said the decision was based on pending cases before the Supreme Court and the CJI’s role in hearing petitions concerning the issue.

The Opposition had planned to raise several concerns, including police action against protesters demanding Kumar’s resignation, an early hearing of cases linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and the composition of the committee responsible for recommending appointments to the Election Commission.

Capital Crackdown

On Saturday, authorities detained more than 7,000 protesters, including CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke and four former chief ministers, amid a major security operation that prevented a planned mass demonstration at Jantar Mantar demanding Kumar’s resignation.

Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site, remained largely deserted throughout the day. More than 30,000 security personnel were deployed, while multiple layers of barricades were erected across Lutyens’ Delhi to prevent protesters from reaching the area.

On Sunday, more than 200 protesters were detained as they raised slogans and marched towards Jantar Mantar. Several were seen being taken away in police buses as the CJP’s protest entered its second day.

The detentions continued into the evening, with protesters being picked up from different locations even after 6.30 pm.

Why Gyanesh Kumar Is Facing Protests

The protests against Kumar come amid growing criticism of the Election Commission over the SIR of electoral rolls.

The controversy intensified following reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to decisions and orders, some of which they reportedly said were issued without their knowledge.

The Election Commission, however, has maintained that the three-member poll panel took all decisions, including those related to the SIR, unanimously.