Kochi: The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) began its 'Jantar Mantar at Kochi' protest in Kerala on Saturday, November 7, demanding the withdrawal of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. Actor-activist Prakash Raj led the march from Marine Drive, with around 500 activists participating, according to the organisers.

Source: The Daily Jagran

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke joined the protest after arriving in Kochi on Saturday. Speaking to ANI at the airport, he said: "It is a people's protest, and I am here on the invitation of the organisers and on the invitation of Prakash Raj. As I said earlier, the fight against Gyanesh Kumar will continue until we get an independent and impartial election system in India." The New Indian Express reported that the rally was scheduled to conclude at Rajendra Maidan, where Dipke was to address a protest meeting.

Source: The New Indian Express via Daily8

The Kochi march drew open support from opposition parties. The India Print reported that leaders from the Congress and the NCP(SP) extended support to the CJP demonstration and demanded greater transparency and accountability from the Election Commission of India in the preparation and revision of voter lists.

At the protest, Dipke also questioned the appointment of a former Chief Electoral Officer of Kerala as secretary to the state's Chief Minister, saying such decisions could undermine the impartiality of the election system. "I think such a thing should not happen anywhere... These things cannot be entertained or tolerated when it comes to the impartiality of the election system," he said.

The Kochi protest is the CJP's first major demonstration outside Delhi since the crackdown on its protests in the national capital last month, when co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were arrested for entering Jantar Mantar after it was denotified as a protest site and Dipke was detained ahead of the party's Tiranga March. On November 5, Das, Ranka and another leader, Ajinkya Shinde, were questioned by the Delhi Police Crime Branch for around four hours in connection with two FIRs linked to the October 13 protest. Union Minister Jitendra Singh has alleged that CJP leaders received foreign funding, an allegation the party's leaders have dismissed as baseless.