Election Tampering: CJP Gives Gyanesh Kumar 48 Hours To Quit

India-West News Desk

NEW DELHI- The Cockroach Janata Party has demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar within 48 hours, called for a freeze on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and upcoming elections, and sought an independent inquiry into the exercise.

The party also demanded that the electoral rolls be restored to the January 2025 voter list, that all records related to the SIR be placed in the custody of the Supreme Court, and that the 2023 law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners be repealed and replaced with legislation involving civil society.

CJP Founder Abhijeet Dipke, along with party spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, issued the demands at a September 24 press conference in New Delhi. Dipke warned that the party would launch a nationwide agitation if Kumar did not resign within 48 hours.

The demands came a day after an Indian Express report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions related to electoral rolls and the SIR. The report said their concerns included voter registration and deletions, changes to Form 6 and the centralization of access to the voter database.

The Election Commission, however, has said that decisions taken by the three-member panel, including those relating to the SIR, were unanimous.

Dipke said the report demonstrated, in CJP’s view, that Kumar had become a threat to India’s democracy and called for his immediate resignation. He questioned what democracy meant if government institutions could determine who was able to vote.

The CJP founder alleged that more than 13 crore names had been deleted from electoral rolls through the SIR and accused Kumar of taking steps that, he claimed, would help the BJP remain in power. The Indian Express reported that the SIR had struck more than 13 crore names from draft electoral rolls across 30 states and Union Territories.

“We have no special attachment to the opposition or any political party,” Dipke said, arguing that eliminating political alternatives would raise questions about whether an election remained free and fair.

He cited developments in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa, as well as the splitting of the Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra, as part of what he described as a sustained effort to weaken opposition parties. He also alleged that party symbols were taken away from the original organizations and given to groups he characterized as proxies of the BJP.

“The real culprit and criminal behind this is Gyanesh Kumar,” Dipke alleged, accusing the CEC of helping the ruling party remain in power.

Under its second demand, the CJP called for all upcoming elections to be put on hold while the SIR is frozen. It wants an independent commission to examine the decision-making surrounding the revision and to restore the electoral roll to the January 2025 version. The party also called for all related files to be secured with the Supreme Court to prevent records from being lost or altered.

Its third demand is for repeal of the 2023 law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners and its replacement with legislation that, according to the party, would restore public confidence and include civil society in the selection process.

Dipke also called on political parties to take a stand against what CJP described as a compromised electoral process rather than participate in elections while raising objections to their conduct.

“If Gyanesh Kumar wants to serve political masters, he should resign and officially take up an aide’s job rather than occupying a constitutional chair,” Dipke said.

He gave Kumar 48 hours to resign and said the CJP would begin a nationwide agitation if he did not step down.