MUMBAI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) co-conveners Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das hit out at what they called a “self-declared liberal” ecosystem for criticising party founder Abhijeet Dipke, accusing it of claiming a monopoly over defending democracy and the Constitution.Ranka said an “entire self-declared liberal ecosystem” had been activated to denounce Dipke and his growing appeal, claiming that the ecosystem existed largely on Twitter while portraying itself as the “sole protector” of democracy.Das also targeted the group, saying a section of political discourse had turned “saving India” and “saving the Constitution” into its exclusive responsibility. He described the group as “self-declared liberals” and “self-declared thekedars of the Constitution”, accusing it of behaving at times worse than the BJP’s ecosystem.“It’s a very big problem. A certain section—not just the BJP—another party thinks ‘saving India, saving Constitution’ is only their job. They are self-declared liberals and self-declared thekedars of the Constitution,” Das said.“It’s a very salty ecosystem, acting worse than the BJP’s ecosystem sometimes. They must realise that they can’t divide and rule through such tactics. Their massive failures over the years has led us to this moment where the young have to show the way. So they should just zip it on us and focus on how to support the young! Total buffoons!” he added.The remarks came a day after the CJP held a protest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park and amid the party’s call for another agitation in Delhi on October 10 if Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar does not resign.The CJP has been demanding Kumar’s resignation, citing alleged irregularities in electoral processes and the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.In a statement on Saturday, CJP founder and convener Abhijeet Dipke said citizens and movement members from across the country would converge in New Delhi and launch a mass protest at Jantar Mantar if Kumar did not step down.“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 said.The CJP said the Delhi protest would “strictly follow a non-violent philosophy”, drawing “structural inspiration from historic civil disobedience to protect public faith in democratic institutions”.The party leadership said “bureaucratic blockades” would not deter the movement, pointing to previous demonstrations and recent detentions as evidence of its resolve.“This is a fight to save our democracy,” Dipke said. “Every citizen who wants free and fair elections must join us on October 10.”The October 10 call followed Friday’s protest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park, where CJP supporters gathered despite police restrictions and raised demands for Kumar’s resignation over alleged electoral-roll irregularities.The Mumbai protest also featured calls for a fresh agitation in Delhi if Kumar did not step down.
