Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has defended the outfit’s protests, asserting that peaceful demonstrations should not be blamed for disruptions to businesses and accusing the government of restricting citizens’ rights.
In a post on instagram, Dipke said, “Businesses do not suffer because of peaceful protests. They suffer when the govt decides to shut down an entire city, suspend internet services and restrict the movement of its own citizens and turn the city into a war-zone.”
Emphasising the party’s commitment to non-violence, Dipke said CJP had organised protests in several cities, including Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Nagpur, and claimed that every demonstration had been peaceful.
“Since its inception, the Cockroach Janta Party has maintained that we will always follow Gandhi’s path of peace and non-violence, and we have stood by that commitment,” he wrote.
Dipke also said he had been assaulted during a protest in Jaipur but chose not to retaliate. “I was personally assaulted in Jaipur, but even then, I chose not to retaliate because responding to violence with violence goes against everything we believe in,” he said.
He invoked the Constitution and Dr B. R. Ambedkar while arguing that the party would continue to exercise its democratic rights rather than resort to physical force.
“We would rather exercise the rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution, drafted under the leadership of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, than resort to physical force. Our strength comes from our commitment to constitutional values, and no amount of provocation will make us abandon them,” Dipke said.
The CJP founder further accused those in power of portraying protesters as anarchists for questioning the government and demanding accountability. He argued that protests and public questioning were fundamental expressions of democracy, pointing to the ruling party’s own history of organising demonstrations while in opposition.
“The very party that is in power today spent decades organising protests, taking to the streets and questioning the governments of the day when it was in opposition,” he wrote.
Dipke alleged that it was hypocritical to celebrate protests as a democratic right while in opposition and treat them as a threat to public order after coming to power.
“We are not asking for privileges or special treatment. We are simply asking to exercise the rights that belong to every citizen of this Republic, irrespective of which party is in power,” he said.
He added that citizens had a duty to question elected representatives, demand accountability and speak up against injustice. “A govt that has been elected by the people is bound to listen to the people, not silence them. Democracy does not end once the votes have been counted,” Dipke said.
The statement comes amid CJP’s ongoing agitation demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The outfit had announced protests in multiple cities, including a demonstration at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on October 2 and a planned protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on October 10. The party has also criticised restrictions on demonstrations in the national capital. Delhi Police subsequently de-notified Jantar Mantar Road as a protest site, prompting Dipke to warn that the agitation would continue if protesters were not allowed to demonstrate there. CJP has said it will continue its campaign until Kumar resigns.