A counter-protest briefly erupted against Cockroach Janta Party () during their Mumbai protest. It was held by a select group of protestors who self-claimed to be a part of ‘Gen Next Mumbai’. They opposed the movement against the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Mumbai.
Gen Next Mumbai is a youth-led social and political advocacy group. They were involved in public demonstrations near the statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar at Churchgate, Mumbai.
The exact whereabouts of Gen Next Mumbai remain unknown. While the founder of the group has not been disclosed, it consisted of youth, including social media influencer and political strategist Rhea Khanolkar and advocate Yash Mishra.
Mumbai Secretary and Social Media In-charge for the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha was also seen posting glimpses from Gen Next Mumbai’s protest. It is not know if he was a part of the protest.
Talking about why the protest erupted, CJP and its founder, one of the protesters, alleged that people like talk about dismantling the Constitution.
“People like Abhijeet Dipke speak of dismantling the Constitution. Today, however, we stand beneath the statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar because we know how to protect and respect the Constitution. That is why we have gathered here for a peaceful demonstration; the conduct of the Cockroach Janata Party will not be tolerated,” the protester was quoted as saying by ANI.
Meanwhile, Rhea Khanolkar shared that the group decided to protest against CJP as they believe in the Constitution. She alleged that CJP is misleading people using the Constitution. She added that Dipke’s group are intentionally speaking against the Election Commission of India to mislead people. She believed that CJP protestors are trying to convey to the citizens that India’s constitutional institutions are incorrect.
For the unversed, CJP is protesting against the Election Commission and alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. They are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
This comes after the alleged irregularities and 14 objections raised by the Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, as per a news investigation report. However, the ECI claimed that the decisions regarding the SIR exercise were unanimous.
CJP has proposed its next protest on October 10 in Delhi.
“If Gyanesh Kumar doesn’t resign, cockroaches from across India will march to Delhi and protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10,” Dipke said.
“And if the Delhi Police tries to stop us, wherever they stop us will become our Jantar Mantar. Ours will be a peaceful protest. We will walk on the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi,” he added.
