Kochi Anti-SIR Protest: Cockroach Janta Party Rally at 4 PM Today

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) will hold a protest called “Jantar Mantar in Kochi” at Rajendra Maidan in Kochi at 4 pm today, Saturday 7 November, demanding that the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls be cancelled. Actor Prakash Raj, in a video of about a minute posted on X on Friday, asked students, young people, civil society members and representatives of organisations to attend peacefully. The party’s slogan for the event is “Save Democracy! Cancel SIR!”

An Appeal to Students and Civil Society

In the video, Prakash Raj said, “We will not tolerate killing democracy,” and said he would be at the venue himself, according to reports by Free Press Journal and Bombay Samachar. Neither report says whether Kochi city police have granted permission for the gathering. The protest falls on Chhoti Diwali.

KVS Haridas, a BJP spokesperson, criticised the event. He alleged that CJP leaders are funded by foreign actors and asked the Kerala Police and the state government not to let Prakash Raj enter Kerala. He also called for action under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. These are the BJP spokesperson’s allegations; the reports cite no evidence for them.

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From Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to Kochi

The CJP has made the SIR its main demand over the past month. It backed the INDIA bloc’s 1 November rally in Delhi and asked for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over voter deletions, as Deccan Chronicle reported. Its Delhi protests have already reached the Supreme Court; IPB News reported on 6 November that the court gave a panel one month to report on the Jantar Mantar protests. Earlier, Delhi Police stopped marchers at the anti-SIR people’s march on 23 October, and a Bengaluru rally on 5 November promised to continue until the CEC quits. More on the party is on the Cockroach Janta Party tag page.

What to Watch After Kochi

The turnout, any police conditions on the gathering and a response from the Kerala government or the Election Commission are not yet known. The CJP has not announced its next venue in this report’s sources.

Source: Based on reporting by Free Press Journal, Bombay Samachar and Deccan Chronicle.

Image: Wikimedia Commons (file photo of Marine Drive, Kochi).