CJP Backs INDIA Bloc's November 1 Rally

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The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) would be supporting the Congress-led rally in Delhi at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan over alleged electoral fraud and seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke posted on X, "Nation above all!" He shared a statement from the youth-led outfit that said it would "support all organisations fighting for free and fair elections in our country".

It added, "By undermining this very principle through SIR, Gyanesh Kumar has lost the trust required to oversee free and fair elections. His resignation is therefore necessary to restore the credibility and independence of the Election Commission." The CJP thus said it would "support all organisations fighting for free and fair elections in our country".

It may be noted that in the past, the Congress did not to take part in the CJP's October 10 protest in Delhi, citing its own nationwide agitation, while the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Left parties, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) backed the CJP.

Rahul Gandhi recently said that ‘all protests are one’. Dipke on number of occasions maintained that CJP would stay outside party politics.  It is learnt that Rahul Gandhi invited Dipke to tea with INDIA bloc leaders and civil society groups. Gandhi also has criticised the arrest of CJP leaders by Delhi police.  

Ramlila Maidan, the venue of Saturday's rally, is one of three grounds the Delhi Police named for large demonstrations after Jantar Mantar was denotified.

Congress MP Jebi Mather has said the rally was a joint decision taken after consultations with INDIA bloc parties, and that there were no differences within the Opposition over the demand for the CEC's resignation.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has asked party MPs to stay in Delhi from October 30 to November 1. The Delhi Police has granted a no-objection certificate for the rally, with conditions, for a programme between 10 am and 5 pm. Meanwhile, BJP MP Ravi Shankar alleged that Rahul Gandhi was insisting on November 1 to hold the rally ‘to hurt the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh rights’. Rahul Gandhi responded on X with a "thank you" to the BJP and its allies for publicising the rally.