The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has announced three demands involving the Election Commission of India (ECI) amid a controversy over reported differences between Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
At a press conference on Thursday, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke demanded Kumar's resignation, a freeze on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and a halt to upcoming elections. The group also warned of protests if Kumar does not step down within 48 hours.
"Jantar Mantar 2.0 will definitely happen if CEC Gyanesh Kumar doesn't resign," Dipke said.
CJP's DEMANDS: The group has demanded Gyanesh Kumar's resignation and criminal proceedings, a halt to upcoming elections and a freeze on SIR with the January 2025 electoral rolls restored, along with an independent inquiry into the SIR process and repeal of the 2023 law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners.
What triggered the row?
The demands come a day after an investigation by The Indian Express reported that Sandhu and Joshi had recorded objections to decisions taken in the commission's name at least 14 times over a 10-month period. The reported objections covered issues including changes to Form 6, the centralisation of electoral-roll database controls, voter deletion appeals and other electoral-roll matters.
The Election Commission, however, rejected the suggestion that its final decisions reflected an internal split. The poll body said decisions, including those related to SIR, were taken unanimously with the approval of all three commissioners.
“All decisions of the Election Commission of India, including SIR, have been unanimous and with the approval of both the Election Commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner,” the EC said.
CJP's three demands
CJP's first demand is Kumar's immediate resignation, along with criminal proceedings and an explanation of who allegedly instructed him.
The second calls for upcoming elections to be put on hold and the SIR process to be frozen, with the January 2025 electoral roll restored. The group has also demanded an independent inquiry into the SIR decision-making process and asked the Supreme Court to take custody of relevant ECI files and records.
Its third demand is the repeal of the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners, and the introduction of a new law with civil society participation. The 2023 legislation formally regulates the appointment, service conditions and tenure of the CEC and Election Commissioners.
Dipke warns of protests
Dipke also appealed to political parties to take a position on participating in elections if they believe the electoral process is being compromised.
"If Gyanesh Kumar wants to serve Modi, he should become Modi’s peon," he said, while making further allegations about Kumar's relationship with the government.