CJP to rally in Mumbai demanding CEC’s resignation and SIR roll freeze

The Cockroach Janta Party announced a rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Friday, 2 October, calling for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to step down and for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral roll to be halted. Founder Abhijeet Dipke made the statement on Thursday and added that the group wants the appointment process of the chief election commissioner to be opened up to civil‑society input. The Mumbai gathering is the first of a planned series of protests in seven cities, with the final demonstration slated for Jantar Mantar in Delhi later this month. Delhi police have denied permission for a Jantar Mantar march on Friday, citing concerns over the SIR controversy. Authorities have beefed up security across central Delhi, deploying roughly 5,000 officers from district, reserve, Rapid Action Force and other paramilitary units. Multi‑layered barricades now block Tolstoy Marg, Janpath Road, Sansad Marg and approaches from Kerala Bhawan and Ashoka Road. The new NCERT Class‑9 Social Science textbook, released this week, frames ‘Ram Rajya’ as an evolving idea in India’s governance narrative and also outlines schemes such as NEP 2020, Khelo Bharat Niti, National Health Policy 2017, e‑governance and Ayushman Bharat PM‑JAY. Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar criticised the CEC’s appointment on Friday, arguing it bypassed constitutional norms and removed the Leader of the Opposition from the selection panel, a move he says could weaken democracy and voting rights.

Context

The protests highlight growing public scrutiny of India’s election‑roll revision process and the transparency of top electoral appointments, issues that have sparked debate across multiple parties and civil‑society groups.