'Resign, halt polls, repeal 2023 law': CJP's 3 demands from EC amid dissent row; Dipke warns of protest

Hindustan Times

24 September, 2026, 07:40 pm

Last modified: 24 September, 2026, 07:48 pm

In a press conference on Thursday, the national pressure group called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as a key demand. (ANI)

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has put forth three key demands amid the ongoing row with the Election Commission of India. In a press conference today (24 September), the national pressure group called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as a key demand.

In a press conference today (24 September), the national pressure group called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as a key demand. (ANI)

Along with this, the group has also called for a freeze on the ongoing special intensive revision SIR exercise, and a halt on all upcoming polls

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Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the CJP, has also warned that the group will launch a protest if Kumar does not tender his resignation within 48 hours.

"Jantar Mantar 2.0 will definitely happen if CEC Gyanesh Kumar doesn't resign," Dipke said during the press conference.

What is the row?

On Wednesday, an investigative report from The Indian Express newspaper stated that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections to decisions taken in the commission's name at least 14 times over 10 months.

Four such objections were made on the same day, the report said. The IE report added that these disagreements involved changes to Form 6, centralisation of the ERONet system, voter deletion appeals and more.

VIDEO | Cockroach Janta Party co-convenor Saurav Das (@SauravDassss) puts forward three demands related to Election Commission of India. He says, "Look, this is a very big conspiracy being plotted against the youth of the country, and we, the people of the country, will absolutely not tolerate it. As Abhijit said, we have no concern with the Opposition or with any particular political party—whether it is the BJP, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, or TMC. These are not issues of these parties; these are issues concerning the youth of the country. We are putting forward three demands. Demand number one: The resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, initiation of criminal proceedings against him immediately, and an answer to the question: Who gave Gyanesh Kumar the orders? Who gave him the orders? Demand number two: Immediately put all upcoming elections on hold. Freeze the SIR and roll back to the January 2025 voter list. Constitute an independent inquiry commission that will inspire public confidence and examine all the decision-making processes related to the SIR. The Supreme Court is equally culpable. Therefore, we also demand from the Supreme Court that all files related to the SIR and all files concerning the decision-making process of the SIR be immediately seized and placed in the Court's custody, so that tomorrow nobody can say that a fire broke out in the Election Commission of India building and the files were destroyed or went missing. Demand number three: Repeal the 2023 law on the appointment of the Election Commissioners of India and enact a new law that inspires public confidence, with the active participation of members of civil society." #CockroachJantaParty
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 24, 2026

Sandhu and Joshi also separately wrote to Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan regarding changes to the EC's IT work, the report noted. The commissioners were concerned that the changes could reduce oversight of the systems used to manage voter lists.

EC's clarification

In a clarification to the report, the Election Commission stated that all decisions it has taken were unanimous in nature.

"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 statement to HT read.

"Differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberation in any institution. They are a part of the decision-making process before a final decision is taken. Not only the three commissioners, but every officer of the commission is fully authorized to give his suggestions to the commission for improving the electoral system," said a press note from the poll body.

South Asia

'Resign, halt polls, repeal 2023 law': CJP's 3 demands from EC amid dissent row; Dipke warns of protest