Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday thanked the organisers of a Delhi Ramlila for what he called 'free publicity', after a 30-foot cockroach effigy was set up — and burnt on Dussehra — alongside the traditional effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad at the Netaji Subhash Place grounds in Pitampura, The Hindu reported.

The Shri Keshav Ramlila Committee, which organises the annual event, said the cockroach was meant to symbolise filth and dirt and to promote cleanliness under the Swachh Bharat and Swachh Delhi campaigns. Committee president Ashok Goel, a BJP MLA, told ANI the committee had previously burnt effigies representing issues such as Naxalism and terrorism, and denied any political motive. CJP legal head Ratna Singh reacted separately, describing the episode as a 'tamasha' (drama), The Hindu reported.

The exchange came as Dipke announced the CJP would suspend its protest activities across the country until after Diwali, appealing to young supporters to spend the festive period with their families, according to reports of his announcement. He said the demonstrations — demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls — had caused anxiety among participants' families, including those of party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, whose judicial custody in the flag-hoisting case was extended by two days on Monday.

Sources: The Hindu; ANI (via News18 and 7Globe); Karmactive.