India's Cockroach Janta Party Demands Resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Over Voter Roll Discrepancies
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), an influential youth-led movement in India, has called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of undermining democracy. The group claims that discrepancies in a voter roll revision process have led to millions being removed from electoral rolls and criticized the centralization of control over who can vote. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke announced plans for nationwide protests starting October 2 if no action is taken by Saturday. The Election Commission initiated 'special intensive revisions' (SIR) last year, aiming to update voter lists but has faced criticism from opposition parties and commission members themselves over the process's transparency. Two EC members raised 14 formal complaints in ten months about being excluded from decisions on adding or deleting voters and concerns regarding software integrity. The Indian National Congress had previously opposed Kumar’s appointment as head of the election panel. The Election Commission has downplayed internal disagreements, calling them part of normal deliberations but has not yet responded to calls for Kumar's resignation or addressed reports that 130 million names were removed from draft rolls.
Topics: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) democracy protests election commission India voter roll revisions