Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leader Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using government resources to protect Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, claiming that protesters and Opposition leaders were being targeted for demanding the poll body chief’s resignation.
Addressing a press conference alongside Neha Bora and actor Prakash Raj, Dipke questioned the detention of protesters and Opposition leaders, claiming that the government was using its machinery to protect Kumar. The press conference came a day after CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were remanded to judicial custody and sent to Tihar Jail.
“These organisations, all of Delhi’s youth are fighting on the streets. They are being dragged on the streets. Neha has been dragged, Ayesha has been dragged, Vilaaj has been dragged, Isha has been dragged. For whom? To save one Gyanesh Kumar,” Dipke said.
He accused the government of waging a “war against its own citizens” and questioned why such measures were being taken to protect the CEC.
DIPKE QUESTIONS SIR, CITES 2024 ELECTION MARGIN
Dipke also questioned the Election Commission’s conduct during elections and challenged the credibility of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Referring to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he said the difference between the NDA and the INDIA bloc was only around 2%. He questioned why people should not suspect that Kumar was helping the BJP in elections.
Dipke further claimed that the Election Commission had deleted 13 crore voters’ names during the SIR exercise. He said he had met people who had been declared dead during the revision process.
The figures and claims were raised by Dipke at the press conference. The distinction between voters flagged during the draft revision and names finally deleted from electoral rolls remains important in assessing the claims.
Dipke also alleged that Modi had deployed all available resources to protect Kumar after a report raised questions about the CEC’s functioning.
OPPOSITION LEADERS, STUDENT ACTIVISTS TARGETED, DIPKE CLAIMS
The CJP leader claimed that student activists and Opposition leaders had been dragged through the streets and detained during the protests. He referred to the detention of leaders, including Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal, and also named Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Dipke questioned the restrictions imposed during the protests, claiming that railway services had been cancelled and security forces brought to Delhi from Naxal-affected areas to deal with demonstrators.
He repeatedly asked whom these measures were intended to protect, answering that they were being taken to safeguard Kumar.
ONE NATION, ONE PARTY: CJP LEADER CHALLENGES MODI
Criticising the government’s “One Nation, One Election” proposal, Dipke called it a slogan and alleged that the government’s real agenda was “One Nation, One Party”.
He also challenged Modi to declare an Emergency, questioning whether the Prime Minister was concerned about how such a move would be viewed by the international community.
The remarks came amid protests demanding Kumar’s resignation over allegations concerning electoral-roll revision and the Election Commission’s functioning.
CJP LEADERS SENT TO TIHAR JAIL
Das and Ranka, along with Ajinkya Shinde, were detained on Tuesday morning after crossing police barricades, entering Jantar Mantar and raising slogans demanding Kumar’s resignation.
The three were booked on charges including obstructing a public official from discharging their duties. A court subsequently remanded Das and Ranka to judicial custody.
Shinde was later released on a personal bond, CJP legal team head Ratna Singh said in a post on X.
The CJP has continued to question the police action against its leaders and other protesters, while Dipke’s latest remarks broadened the party’s criticism to the Election Commission’s role in electoral-roll revision and the government’s handling of dissent.
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