Dipke flags Maharashtra Police notices to CJP volunteers ahead of October 10 Delhi protest

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday accused Maharashtra Police of attempting to discourage his supporters from travelling to New Delhi for the organisation’s October 10 protest at Jantar Mantar, after volunteers in Chandrapur received preventive notices ahead of the demonstration.

Dipke said the notices questioned volunteers about their proposed travel to Delhi, including the source of money for their expenses, and cautioned them against actions that could lead to violence or disruption of public order. Questioning the police action, he asked how authorities could anticipate that the proposed demonstration would turn violent and whether “something was already being planned” to disrupt it.

Notices issued in Chandrapur

At least one notice shared publicly by Dipke was issued by Ballarpur Police in Chandrapur district on October 5 under Section 168 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.

The notice stated that police had received information that the recipient intended to travel to New Delhi to support Dipke’s proposed agitation. It directed the volunteer to follow police instructions and warned against conduct that could obstruct public peace or create a law-and-order situation.

It also referred to prohibitory orders under Section 37(1)(3) of the Maharashtra Police Act that were in force in Chandrapur district. The notice warned that preventive or criminal action could follow if any violation resulted in, or was likely to result in, a cognisable offence.

Dipke claimed that several CJP volunteers had received similar notices and were being pressured not to participate in the October 10 demonstration.

Dipke questions police warning

Addressing a press conference in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Dipke said he had repeatedly described Maharashtra Police as among the country’s best police forces but was disappointed by the action against CJP volunteers.

He questioned why police were interested in knowing who was paying for supporters’ travel to Delhi and why volunteers were being warned about the possibility of violence before the demonstration had taken place.

Dipke also objected to warnings concerning social media posts that could potentially provoke violence, arguing that CJP’s campaign invoked the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar and was intended to remain peaceful.

The CJP founder’s suggestion that there could be a plan to disrupt the protest is his allegation. No evidence establishing such a plan has emerged.

October 10 protest

CJP has called the Jantar Mantar demonstration to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid the continuing controversy over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Dipke and his organisation have accused the Election Commission of irregularities in the revision exercise and have joined calls questioning the handling of voter enrolment and deletion. The Election Commission has rejected allegations that the exercise was designed to manipulate electoral rolls or disenfranchise voters.

The October 10 mobilisation follows a series of demonstrations by CJP over the issue, including a protest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on October 2.

The planned Delhi gathering also comes days after Opposition parties stepped up their own campaign against the CEC and the SIR process.

Police action follows Mumbai protest

The latest preventive notices come against the backdrop of police action over CJP’s October 2 demonstration at Shivaji Park.

Mumbai Police subsequently registered a case against Dipke, several other CJP leaders and more than 400 supporters for allegedly holding an unlawful assembly and raising slogans after permission for the demonstration had been denied.

Police said CJP representatives had been informed that permission was not granted. Dipke had publicly criticised the refusal, describing it as an attempt to suppress citizens’ voices.

The allegations in that case remain subject to the legal process.

‘One nation, one political party’

Dipke also used Tuesday’s press conference to attack the BJP-led government, claiming that the slogan of “One Nation, One Election” was masking an attempt to create “one nation, one political party”.

The remark was a political allegation by the CJP founder. He did not provide evidence establishing that the government’s electoral reform proposal had such an objective.

His comments came on a day when Opposition parties staged a major protest in New Delhi over the SIR controversy and demanded Kumar’s resignation, intensifying the political confrontation surrounding the Election Commission.

CJP says protest peaceful

CJP has maintained that the October 10 gathering will be peaceful and has questioned the basis for preventive action against volunteers before they reach Delhi.

The notices, however, frame the police intervention as a preventive law-and-order measure rather than an accusation that violence has already occurred.

The dispute has consequently shifted attention towards the extent to which police can use preventive powers ahead of political demonstrations and the basis on which individual participants can be cautioned.

For Dipke, the central question remains why CJP volunteers in Maharashtra are being asked about their travel plans and funding before a protest hundreds of kilometres away in Delhi. With the Jantar Mantar demonstration scheduled for October 10, the notices have added another layer of confrontation to CJP’s continuing campaign against the Chief Election Commissioner.