Mumbai, October 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar on Saturday backed the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the government of attempting to curb the agitation instead of engaging with demonstrators.
Ambedkar said the authorities should have opened a dialogue with the protesters rather than restricting their movement through measures such as train cancellations, Metro shutdowns and vehicle checks.
“The government is totally scared…it should have held talks with the protesters,” he said, describing the situation as resembling an Emergency.
The VBA chief said the agitation was being driven by young people seeking change and accountability rather than political power. He warned that the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) could face consequences similar to those he attributed to the Congress following the 2012 anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare.
“Youngsters had taken part in large numbers during the 2012 agitation also, which was led by Anna Hazare, and till date they have not allowed Congress to return to power,” Ambedkar said.
Referring to the current protests, he argued that political parties benefiting from earlier youth-led movements should have learned from that experience.
“Today also the protesters are the younger generation who are not fighting for power, but are agitating for change, for responsibility,” he said, adding that the BJP and RSS could meet the same fate as the Congress if they opposed the movement.
Ambedkar also cited the anti-NEET paper leak agitation at Jantar Mantar, saying public participation had contributed to its success. He expressed confidence that the CJP protest, too, would gain strength through the involvement of ordinary citizens.
Turning his criticism towards the Congress, Ambedkar said the party still had an opportunity to reconnect with younger voters and understand their concerns. He argued that the era of “one man rule” was over and cautioned the party against repeating what he described as its failure to understand the younger generation during the 2012 agitation.
Meanwhile, CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained by police at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi while heading to Jantar Mantar to participate in the protest.
The agitation is seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The allegations were cited as the basis for the protest; the supplied information does not establish them as proven.
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