September 25, 2026

India's 'cockroach' movement to protest from Oct 2 if poll chief does not quit by Saturday

The group gave Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar 48 hours to resign

India's 'cockroach' movement to protest from Oct 2 if poll chief does not quit by Saturday
Abhijeet Dipke, head of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) speaks as the party's convenors Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das look on during a press conference to demand resignation of India's Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, in New Delhi, India, Sept 24, 2026. REUTERS/Bhawika Chhabra

Reuters

Published : 25 Sep 2026, 12:42 PM

Updated : 25 Sep 2026, 12:42 PM

India's 'cockroach' youth movement will launch nationwide protests on Oct 2 if the country's chief election officer, Gyanesh Kumar, does not resign by Saturday, founder Abhijeet Dipke said on Friday.

Opposition groups and the self-named “Cockroach Janta Party” have demanded Kumar's resignation after a newspaper report said his deputies had questioned him over changes to voter lists that opposition groups say benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party.

"If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by tomorrow, CJP will begin its nationwide protest from Mumbai on 2 October, and take it to cities across India," Dipke said in a post on X.

CJP on Thursday demanded that Kumar quit within 48 hours.

The Election Commission of India said that differences among officers were normal in any institution and that all its actions were lawful.

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