A protest in Pune on Saturday intensified demands for greater transparency in the election process, with around 200 young participants seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and opposing the arrests of office-bearers of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP).
The demonstration was held near the statue of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar outside the district collectorate. Participants carried the national flag and raised slogans including “Save democracy” and “Save the Constitution”. They also demanded the cancellation of SIR and called for the arrest of the Chief Election Commissioner. The source report does not expand the abbreviation SIR.
The protest took place between 4 pm and 7 pm. Police security was deployed in the area during the demonstration. The event was organised under the banner of the party’s “Lahra Do Tiranga” campaign, which was announced in response to the arrests of CJP office-bearers during a protest in Delhi.
According to the report, CJP co-coordinators Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were arrested in Delhi on charges including breach of peace and trespass during an agitation. A court subsequently remanded them to five days of judicial custody, after which they were sent to Tihar Jail. The Pune demonstration was among protests organised in different cities in support of the arrested office-bearers.
CJP founder Abhijit Dipke was also taken into preventive custody on Friday while attempting to lead a march at Connaught Place in Delhi. The report said a special executive magistrate’s court granted him conditional bail on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 on Saturday.
The Pune protest also included a signature campaign focused on the demand for the Chief Election Commissioner’s resignation. A display board asked citizens whether Gyanesh Kumar should resign and invited them to record their views under the tagline “Your voice, your demand”. The report described the demand as being linked to alleged irregularities in the election process; it did not provide details of the allegations or any response from the Election Commission.
The CJP was founded by Abhijit Dipke in May 2026 and is described in the report as a youth-focused organisation active primarily through the internet. It came into public attention through protests against alleged irregularities in medical entrance examinations. The report did not provide membership figures, details of the signature campaign’s target or the next legal or organisational step following the Pune demonstration.
