The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) staged a protest in Bengaluru on Thursday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the cancellation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Protesters gathered at Freedom Park, chanting slogans including “Gyanesh Kumar, step down” and “Cancel SIR”. Popular YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, who travelled from Germany to join the demonstration, and actor Prakash Raj also took part.
The protest, titled the “People’s Tribunal”, was organised by CJP.
The organisation said the platform was intended to raise concerns over people whose names were allegedly removed from electoral rolls during the SIR process.
Large crowds began gathering at Freedom Park on Thursday morning.
Around 1pm, CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Sourav Das and Ashutosh Rankara arrived at the venue. Rathee and Raj joined them on stage and voiced their opposition to the revision exercise.
Protesters later chanted “Vote Chor, Vote Chor” (vote thieves), echoing slogans raised during protests against the Election Commission.
Addressing the gathering, actor Prakash Raj said, “Through the SIR process, the Election Commission has insulted the entire country. Earlier, the people of this country decided who would form the government, but through SIR, the government is now deciding who will vote.”
Calling for the cancellation of SIR, Prakash Raj said, “The objective of this protest is not merely the removal of Gyanesh. It is also to demand the cancellation of the SIR process. Because if Gyanesh leaves, someone else will take his place.”
Meanwhile, Dhruv Rathee travelled from Germany to India to participate in the protest.
Describing the movement as a “fight to protect democracy”, Rathee said, “There is a lack of transparency in the Election Commission’s SIR process. They must be held accountable. I have not come here with the intention of changing the government.”
Last week, the ‘Cockroaches’ had organised a similar protest in Mumbai, where thousands of people, including students, young people and women, participated.
