Mumbai: A protest organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), led by Abhijeet Dipke, began at Shivaji Park on Friday evening. The CJP is protesting to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

Meanwhile, several prominent personalities, including film actor Naseeruddin Shah and singer Vishal Dadlani, arrived to encourage Abhijeet Dipke and the protesters. Addressing the protesters at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke compared the conduct of the police in Mumbai and Delhi. He described the Mumbai Police as “lovely”, while calling a Delhi Police DCP a “demon”. CJP leader Saurabh Das also accused the Delhi Police of brutality and warned them, saying, “Mend your ways, otherwise we will mend them for you.”

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have extended their support to the CJP’s protest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park. Thousands of people gathered there on Friday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Addressing the protesters, Abhijeet Dipke referred to the protest held in Delhi and alleged that DCP Sachin Sharma was “Amit Shah’s General Dyer”. He said, “He was responsible for this ruthless action and did not even spare minor girls.” Meanwhile, Dipke praised the Mumbai Police, saying, “The Mumbai Police took me away, took me there and gave me tea.”

During the protest in Mumbai, jewellery made from “Melody” chocolate wrappers and a “Fraud Detergent” banner became the centre of attraction. Protesters at Shivaji Park adopted unique ways to put across their message. Manish Mandal, a student from Sion, was wearing jewellery made from “Melody” chocolate wrappers, while holding a banner in Devanagari script that read “Fraud Detergent Powder”. Groups affiliated with the All India Students’ Federation (AISF), who had come from Pune, also raised slogans and played musical instruments near the park.

Maharashtra minister Ashish Shelar on Friday described the CJP’s protest against the “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of electoral rolls as the “grammar of anarchy”. He said objections to the process should be raised through constitutional and legal means rather than street protests. Shelar accused the Opposition of attempting to create distrust among the public over SIR and said citizens have the option of filing claims and objections before the Election Commission, as well as pursuing legal remedies.

Sanjay Nirupam, a leader of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, criticised the “Cockroach Janata Party” (CJP) protest, saying that the CJP, which emerged from Instagram, would eventually return there. In a sarcastic remark, he said the protest was not a people’s movement but appeared to be “a season of some TV show”.

Nirupam said the protests being held at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and Mumbai’s Shivaji Park by Opposition parties and Instagram-active youngsters associated with the “Cockroach Janata Party” were neither aimed at saving the country, democracy nor the Constitution. According to him, the protests were being held by various political parties to save their parties, while the “Cockroach Janata Party” was using them to promote its politics.

He said, “I would like to congratulate the Mumbai Police for stopping the ‘spectacle and drama’ at Shivaji Park before it could even begin. They dismantled the entire stage and did not allow the ‘drama’ to take place.”