Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) Chief Executive Member Hagrama Mohilary on Wednesday, 14 October described the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) as a political outfit during a public interaction at the Bijni Youth Festival in Chirang district, Assam. His remarks brought the controversial youth-led party into focus at an event otherwise dedicated to youth participation and Bodoland movement nostalgia.

What Mohilary Said at the Festival

Mohilary attended the festival as chief guest on the third day of the four-day event, organised by the Bijni district unit of the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) at the Bijni District Sports Association ground. Speaking during the interaction, he characterised the CJP plainly as a political party — a framing that implicitly distances it from any claim to being a civic or non-partisan movement.

The BTC chief also reflected on his own formative years, recounting how the pull of political agitation shaped his personal choices. 'I also wanted to take part in an agitation. I left engineering after studying for just two days to join the agitation,' he said, in a candid recall of his decision to abandon his studies for the Bodoland movement.

The CJP and Its Recent Controversies

The Cockroach Janata Party, a youth-led outfit, has been running a campaign against the Election Commission of India's (ECI) electoral roll revision exercise, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The party has alleged that changes to electoral rolls risk excluding eligible voters; the Commission has maintained that deleted voters can seek re-registration.

The CJP has faced repeated confrontations with law enforcement in recent weeks. In September, Assam Police detained co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka and more than 30 party workers in Guwahati ahead of a planned regional volunteers' meeting. The party alleged the detention was intended to prevent the gathering; those detained were subsequently released.

Delhi Custody and Continued Campaign

On the same day as Mohilary's remarks, Ranka and fellow CJP leader Saurav Das were remanded to five days of judicial custody in Delhi following a protest-related incident at Jantar Mantar. Police alleged violations of previous undertakings and obstruction of officers. The party has vowed to continue its campaign despite the legal pressure.

Broader Context

This comes amid a wider national debate over the ECI's electoral roll clean-up exercise, with multiple opposition-aligned groups raising concerns about potential disenfranchisement. Notably, the CJP's confrontational posture — including street protests and direct demands for the CEC's resignation — has attracted both supporters and critics across the political spectrum. Mohilary's characterisation at a BPF-organised festival signals that established regional political forces, too, are now publicly weighing in on the CJP's identity and credentials.

As the CJP's legal battles in Delhi unfold and its electoral roll campaign continues, the coming weeks will test whether the outfit can sustain momentum in the face of sustained law enforcement scrutiny.