‘Why are police stopping our workers?’: Dipke alleges notices ahead of Oct 10 CJP protest

New Delhi: The planned October 10 protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar is gathering momentum, with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) alleging that police in Maharashtra are sending notices to activists and asking them not to attend the agitation in Delhi.

CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said the protest would be a major youth mobilisation against alleged voter-list deletions and unemployment, while AISA president Neha Bora called for a broader unity of political forces and civil society groups against the BJP-led government.

The developments come amid a growing political row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the functioning of the Election Commission.

CJP alleges police notices to activists

CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke alleged on Tuesday that police in Chandrapur, Maharashtra, had issued notices to party activists and pressured them not to participate in the October 10 protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

Dipke claimed the police had also questioned activists about the source of funds for their travel to Delhi and said the notices described the planned agitation as potentially “violent”.

“How do the police know so early that the agitation would be violent? Have they planned anything in advance?” Dipke asked at a press conference in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

He also alleged that similar notices had been issued in Rajasthan by the local CID to a person named Mukesh.
Also read | Who is sending Kerala’s politically unaffiliated youth to Delhi protests? Intelligence agencies probe

‘We will not back down’: CJP

CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said the October 10 mobilisation would be led by the country’s youth and the Gen Z demographic.

He said the agitation, although initiated by the CJP, belonged to young people seeking accountability over voter-list deletions and unemployment.

According to Das, the protest would continue until their demands were met, particularly the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

“If the right to vote is taken away, nothing will change; the country will continue on its current path- or perhaps get even worse,” Das said, asserting that the youth would not back down.

AISA seeks unity of anti-BJP forces

AISA president Neha Bora separately urged political groups beyond the INDIA bloc, along with civil society, to join the October 10 protest.

She alleged that large-scale deletion of names from voter lists during the SIR exercise had created an urgent situation and called for all forces opposed to the BJP-led government to unite.

Bora also alleged that Jantar Mantar, the designated protest site in Delhi, had effectively been sealed without an official notice or order and claimed that police had been deployed to prevent protests.

CPI(ML) Liberation national general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, who was present at the press conference, demanded the immediate removal of Gyanesh Kumar as CEC.
Also read | Gyanesh Kumar protest: Why Mumbai Police and Delhi Police reacted differently

Opposition demands focus on SIR and voter lists

The protest is centred on the opposition's allegations over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Bora claimed that 13 crore names had been deleted during the SIR exercise and demanded that the process be scrapped.

The CJP has also listed the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar among its main demands, along with criminal action against him, stopping the SIR exercise and ensuring that the appointment of Election Commissioners is made independently and neutrally.

Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote chori’ attack adds to row

The planned October 10 protest comes amid a broader opposition campaign against the Election Commission.

Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has accused the Prime Minister, Home Minister, RSS chief and CEC of “vote chori” and said none of them would be spared.

On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders marched towards the Election Commission in Delhi, with several opposition leaders detained after police stopped the protest.

ECI rejects allegations

 The Election Commission of India has rejected allegations made by Rahul Gandhi regarding the electoral revision process.

The ECI termed his claims “misleading” and said the SIR order in Bihar issued on June 24, 2025 was approved unanimously by the Commission and upheld by the Supreme Court in its judgment dated May 27, 2026.

The CJP, however, has said its October 10 agitation will continue until its demands, including the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, are met.

(With PTI inputs)