New Delhi, October 13: Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday questioned the Supreme Court over its response to the ongoing protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the role of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. His remarks came amid continuing demonstrations in Delhi, where CJP co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained along with 12 others at Jantar Mantar, according to their legal counsel.
Reacting to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s reported remark that law and order was not the Supreme Court’s domain, Dipke questioned what action the court had taken against the Election Commission of India. He alleged that no action had been taken against the poll body over the concerns raised by protesters.
“I would not like to comment on that right now because both the CJI and the Supreme Court have recently said that law and order is not the responsibility of the court. What action have they taken against the Election Commission? They have taken no action at all,” Dipke was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The CJP founder also referred to the controversy surrounding electoral roll revisions in West Bengal. He claimed that voters whose names had been deleted were effectively being told that they could vote later, and questioned whether the same approach would be applied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Will the Supreme Court tell Narendra Modi the same thing, that he should not contest the election this time and can contest the next time?” Dipke asked, according to PTI. He questioned the basis on which voters were being asked to accept such a situation.
The SIR exercise has become a major point of contention, with opposition parties and several organisations raising concerns about the possibility of eligible voters being excluded from electoral rolls. The Election Commission, however, has maintained that decisions taken by the three-member poll panel, including those concerning SIR, were unanimous.
Dipke also expressed support for further demonstrations, saying that protests against the exercise should continue across the country until Gyanesh Kumar resigns. He called for wider participation in the movement, including from the INDIA bloc.
Meanwhile, the detention of Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and 12 others at Jantar Mantar added to tensions surrounding the protests in the national capital. Their lawyer, Pushp Sharma, said the group had been taken to Jaffarpur Kalan police station and that he was awaiting permission to meet them.
The Supreme Court’s handling of the wider protest-related matters remains under scrutiny, with a hearing concerning the Delhi protest crackdown reportedly deferred until Thursday. The debate over electoral roll revisions and the Election Commission’s actions continues as protesters press for accountability and changes to the process.
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