Kochi: The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) on Saturday held an anti-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) protest in Kochi, demanding the withdrawal of the electoral roll revision exercise and the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
The agitation, titled 'Jantar Mantar at Kochi', was held at Rajendra Maidan, where hundreds of people, including politicians, activists, students and celebrities, gathered to express their opposition to the SIR exercise.
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CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, actor-activist Prakash Raj and other party leaders led a protest march from Marine Drive to Rajendra Maidan. The march began around 3.52 pm and concluded at the venue at 4 pm.
Protesters were seen carrying placards demanding the rollback of SIR and the removal of Gyanesh Kumar, while chanting slogans such as 'Inquilab Zindabad'. Several participants said they had joined the agitation to protect democracy and oppose what they described as fascism and the suppression of dissent.
Addressing the gathering, Dipke said people should not allow the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to undermine the country and stressed that India belonged to all its citizens, irrespective of their religion.
"Hindustan kisi ki baap ki nahi hai. We will prove that," he said.
Appealing to the protesters to stand up for others, Dipke urged them to fight for people they did not personally know. He also alleged that the government had launched a massive crackdown against student protests out of fear.
Dipke further criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his alleged silence on student protests, claiming that the prime minister was afraid of facing press conferences and answering questions from the public.
He also questioned the prime minister's allegations of foreign funding against the CJP, accusing him of compromising India's interests in its dealings with US President Donald Trump. Dipke referred to issues including Russian oil imports and US tariffs while criticising the government's foreign policy.
Recalling his arrest for waving the national flag, Dipke said he would continue carrying it wherever he went.
"I was arrested for waving the national flag. But I will carry this national flag everywhere," he said.
Earlier, speaking to the media after arriving in Kochi, Dipke alleged that votes were being deleted across the country and claimed that no state had been spared from such deletions.
He also praised Keralam, describing it as a progressive state and expressing hope that other states would follow its example.
"This is really God's country. If every state were progressive like Kerala, India would be a developed country. We need people like Keralam," he said.
The protest also saw participation from student organisations and political groups. All India Students' Federation (AISF) president Viraj Devang challenged Prime Minister Modi to denotify all protest sites across the country, saying the agitation would demonstrate that people who had voted the BJP to power could also remove it.
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) Joint Secretary and All India Students' Association (AISA) leader Danish Ali also addressed the gathering. Ali said the BJP was making the country less democratic with each passing day and criticised CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
The Marxist Communist Party of India (United)'s Kerala secretary, Sreekumar, said democratic forces would unite in Kochi to protect democracy. He said activists from the Students'
Federation of India (SFI), National Students' Union of India (NSUI), CJP and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) would participate in the agitation.
Meanwhile, the Congress launched a separate 'Vote Bachavo Desh Bachavo' protest in Kozhikode as part of its nationwide agitation against SIR and Gyanesh Kumar. The protest march was scheduled to begin from Kozhikode beach.
As the Kochi event drew to a close, Dipke thanked the people of Keralam for their support. He left midway through the event to catch a flight, joking that he needed to reach home in time for Diwali or his mother would be upset.
Before his departure, a protester gifted him a traditional mundu (dhoti), which he wore as he left Kochi. Dipke promised to return to the city for more such events.
(This story is compiled by Aaron Philip Keechireth)
