CJP slams govt over CEC protest crackdown, calls detentions 'peak authoritarianism'
Synopsis
Hours after being released from preventive detention, CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka invoked the Emergency of 1975, named PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah personally, and declared that a movement targeting the Chief Election Commissioner has now become a direct confrontation with the government — a significant escalation in an already charged political standoff.
Key Takeaways
CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka held a press conference on 11 October after being released by a Delhi court following preventive arrest.
Ranka alleged 'peak authoritarianism' over the past 72 hours , with thousands of protesters detained nationwide.
The CJP directly blamed PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for escalating the anti-CEC agitation into a broader confrontation.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke's grandmother died on Saturday while he was in detention; CJP alleged Delhi Police acted inhumanely at the moment he received the news.
Four former Chief Ministers — Arvind Kejriwal , Mamata Banerjee , Manik Sarkar , Pinarayi Vijayan — reportedly joined the street protests the previous day.
Members of student bodies SFI and AISA were allegedly 'brutally detained', according to CJP.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Sunday, 11 October alleged that the central government was 'scared' and had deliberately turned protests against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar into a confrontation 'against themselves', following the mass detention and release of protesters across New Delhi.
Key Allegations After Release
Speaking at a press conference hours after being released by a Delhi court following a preventive arrest, CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka described the past three days as an unprecedented clampdown. 'In the last 72 hours, the country has witnessed peak authoritarianism. Thousands of peaceful protesters who wanted to stage an agitation at a designated protest site have been detained from across the country,' he said.
Ranka directly blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging: 'The situation has been made so worse that we were kidnapped from the flight yesterday.' He further claimed that the security arrangements in Delhi in recent days had surpassed even those witnessed during the Emergency of 1975 — a charged historical comparison in Indian political discourse.
CJP's Central Charge Against the Election Commission
The CJP co-convener alleged that the Election Commission of India, whose constitutional mandate is to uphold democratic processes, 'is working entirely at the behest of PM Modi and Amit Shah, to make the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win elections.' He claimed that what began as an agitation against the CEC had been reframed by the government into a broader fight against the ruling establishment itself. These are allegations the government has not publicly responded to, and the Election Commission of India had not issued a statement at the time of this report.
Human Cost: Founder's Personal Loss Amid Detention
Ranka also recounted a deeply personal episode involving CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, whose grandmother passed away on Saturday while he was in detention. According to Ranka, Delhi Police arrived at the moment Dipke received the news 'with cameras and microphones', which the CJP described as 'extremely inhuman'. Ranka alleged that Dipke's repeated requests to speak to his cousin — citing that his parents are heart patients — were denied by police. Delhi Police had not responded to these specific claims at the time of publication.
Shortly before the press conference began, Dipke said he was travelling to his hometown in Maharashtra to attend his grandmother's last rites, while asserting that the CJP 'will neither back down nor be intimidated'.
Opposition Solidarity and Student Detentions
The CJP extended thanks to opposition leaders who reportedly joined demonstrations the previous day. Ranka specifically named four former Chief Ministers — Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Manik Sarkar, and Pinarayi Vijayan — who, he said, 'came out on the streets yesterday with the students and youth of this country'. He further alleged that members of left-wing student organisations, including the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students' Association (AISA), were 'brutally detained' during the protests.
With Ranka declaring that 'the fight has just begun' and the CJP vowing to continue its agitation, the standoff between the opposition-aligned protest movement and the central government shows no sign of an early resolution.
Point of View
Not merely rhetorical. By invoking the Emergency of 1975, the party is reaching for the most potent symbol of democratic backsliding in Indian memory, a move designed to broaden the coalition of the aggrieved beyond its own base. What mainstream coverage risks missing is the institutional dimension: if the allegations about the Election Commission's partisanship gain traction among opposition parties and civil society simultaneously, the pressure on the constitutional body itself — not just the government — could intensify in ways that outlast this specific protest cycle. The government's silence, rather than a rebuttal, may itself become a data point in the coming days.
NationPress
11 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the CJP protests about?
The CJP protests were originally directed against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar , with demonstrators alleging partisan conduct by the Election Commission of India. The protests escalated after large-scale preventive detentions in Delhi , prompting the CJP to broaden its allegations directly against PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah .
Who is Ashutosh Ranka and why was he detained?
Ashutosh Ranka is the co-convener of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) . He was among the protesters subjected to preventive arrest ahead of the planned agitation in Delhi and was released by a Delhi court on 11 October , after which he addressed a press conference.
Which opposition leaders joined the anti-CEC protests?
According to CJP's Ashutosh Ranka, four former Chief Ministers — Arvind Kejriwal , Mamata Banerjee , Manik Sarkar , and Pinarayi Vijayan — participated in street demonstrations the day before the press conference. The CJP credited their participation as a show of solidarity for democratic values.
What happened to CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke during the protests?
Abhijeet Dipke , the CJP founder, was in detention when he received news that his grandmother had died on Saturday . CJP alleged that Delhi Police arrived with cameras and microphones and denied his requests to speak with his cousin, despite his parents being heart patients. Dipke later left for Maharashtra to attend the last rites.
Has the government responded to the CJP's allegations?
The central government, Delhi Police , and the Election Commission of India had not issued a public response to the specific allegations made by CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka at the time of this report. NationPress will update this story as responses become available.
