A protest rally organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) at Pune’s Dr B R Ambedkar statue near the District Collectorate concluded peacefully on Saturday evening, with participants demanding the release of detained activists, the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
The demonstration was held between 4 pm and 6.30 pm. Pune police deployed personnel at the site, but no protester was detained, according to the report. The rally followed similar demonstrations in Delhi and other locations linked to the detention of CJP activists.
CJP volunteers used a van as a stage and distributed Tricolour flags and placards. Protesters raised slogans including “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”, “Jai Bhim” and “Laal Salam”, while songs such as “Sadda Haq”, “Aithe Rakh” and “Rang De Basanti” were played over loudspeakers. The gathering concluded with the National Anthem.
The protest was called after CJP activists Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained by Delhi Police on October 13. The two allegedly climbed over police barricades to enter New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar while carrying national flags and raising slogans. A court later remanded them to five days in judicial custody, after which they were jailed.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke subsequently called for nationwide “Lehra Do Tiranga” protests. Delhi Police arrested Dipke, who was released on conditional bail on Saturday while demonstrations were taking place in Pune. Protesters at the Pune rally welcomed news of his release and accused the government of restricting their constitutional right to dissent peacefully.
Activist Supreeth Ravish of the Bhagat Singh Jan Adhikar Yatra said the SIR process should be declared null and void and called for re-elections in states where it was conducted. His comments were made in the context of the protesters’ allegation that the revision process could affect voting rights. Protesters also demanded Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and a ban on electronic voting machines.
Niharika Bhosale, who had participated in the Pune protest, was among youngsters detained by Madhya Pradesh Police at Itarsi railway station on October 10 before they could reach the CJP’s Jantar Mantar demonstration. Speaking at the rally, she criticised the de-notification of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site and said the right to protest could not be restricted to a location dictated by the government.
Chandan Salunkhe, an office-bearer of Shiv Sena (UBT), also addressed the gathering and supported continuing the agitation until the Chief Election Commissioner resigned. A separate demonstration with similar demands was held by Jawab Do movement activists on a footpath outside Chhatrapati Sambhaji Garden on J M Road in Pune on Saturday evening.
