'All for one man': Dipke slams Centre for sweeping curbs to quell anti-CEC stirs

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party addresses a press conference in New Delhi, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) activist Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday accused the government of detaining protesters and even opposition leaders that include former chief ministers, just to save “one man”, chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Addressing the media, Dipke said students, organisations, and the youth protesting for the past 10-15 days were being “dragged away”, while opposition leaders were detained too. “For the past 10-15 days, students’ organisations and the youth of Delhi have been out on the streets, being dragged away. When the Opposition joined them, they were detained too, including the leader of the opposition and former chief ministers like Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and Pinarayi Vijayan,” Dipke said. “All this for whom? For one man, Gyanesh Kumar,” he added. Dipke further alleged that Railways services were suspended after the October 10 call, saying this was possibly the first time such a step had been taken in the country’s history. “That wasn’t enough, so they shut the Metro and closed stations across Delhi. For whom? Gyanesh Kumar. Still not satisfied, they brought in forces from Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

Meanwhile, All India Students' Association leader and activist, Neha Bora, expressed solidarity with the media and criticised the authorities over the detention and alleged harassment of journalists. Speaking at the press conference, Bora said journalists were detained for hours and even beaten, despite having their press cards. “We saw how cameras were snatched from journalists and they were told that they would not get the camera if they cover this,” she said. Bora accused the police of backing a particular political party and of cracking down on the public instead of maintaining law and order. Meanwhile, the CJP and other organisations have called on people to wave the national flag at Central Park in Delhi’s Connaught Place on Saturday.