CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke leaves Mumbai for Delhi to lead Jantar Mantar protest against CEC | WATCH

Mumbai/New Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Saturday morning left the Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai for the airport to board a flight to New Delhi, where he is set to lead a planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

A party functionary confirmed that Dipke, along with senior leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, is scheduled to arrive at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport by 10 am to head straight to the protest site.
 

The October 10 demonstration seeks CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over alleged electoral irregularities and concerns surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls.

CJP is demanding the reinstatement of voters whose names were allegedly removed, greater transparency in the revision process, and a neutral mechanism for appointing election commissioners.
 

The departure comes amidst strong condemnation from the CJP leadership regarding what it described as a widespread crackdown on its members travelling to New Delhi. According to party statements, between 15 and 30 students and activists travelling from Pune were forcibly deboarded from the Goa Express at Itarsi Junction in Madhya Pradesh and detained by local police and Government Railway Police personnel.

The organisation further claimed that activists from West Bengal, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were intercepted, while CJP spokesperson Deepak Baliyan and his brother were allegedly assaulted by police in Rajasthan, sustaining severe injuries.

CJP alleged that detainees were being forced onto return trains or coerced into signing good-behaviour bonds to prevent them from reaching the venue.

Party leadership also criticised reported transit disruptions, including train cancellations, metro station closures and temporary mobile internet suspensions in parts of central Delhi, labeling them as restrictive measures against peaceful assembly.

In a late-night video message prior to his departure, Dipke asserted that the demonstration would proceed regardless of potential preventive action against him.

"Tomorrow is our march. I don't know what will happen to me, whether I will be arrested from the airport or later. I will not be cowed down because we want to save democracy. The government can slap us with NSA or UAPA, but I am not scared,” Dipke said.

(With PTI inputs)