Bar Council of India (BCI) chief Manan Kumar Mishra on Friday dismissed calls for his resignation, a demand also backed by Abhijeet Dipke’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
His remarks came days after the CJP announced support for a protest at BCI, New Delhi seeking Mishra’s resignation and called on “legal cockroaches” to join in.
I am telling you this. A lawyer cannot be a cockroach. Lawyers belong to a respected class; they are a highly intelligent group. “Do you want to make a mockery of an institution like the Bar Council of India? Cockroaches both inside and outside courts should ensure this happens,” he wrote on X. “Seizing this opportunity, members of the Aam Aadmi Party and the so-called CJP group began demanding Manan Mishra’s resignation….
Because i was elected.., i have served as the Chairman of the Bar Council of India for 12 to 14 years. He said that he represents 25 lakh lawyers and won’t step down over some demands on social media. Do you think you can force the resignation of the Chairman of the Bar Council of India, who represents 2.5 to 2.6 million people across the country, simply by circulating frivolous posts on social media?,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. Manan Mishra represents 25 lakh lawyers; he will not step down simply,” he was quoted as saying by ANI .
The Rajya Sabha MP also rejected the use of this term for advocates and said: “Don’t you dare use the term “legal cockroaches” ever again. The Bar Council Chair also said that anyone who holds the post is not merely appointed but elected to lead the role. CJP spokesperson Saurav Das had said: “Moral responsibility commands that Manan Kumar Mishra resigns. Among the protesting lawyers’ primary concerns are Mishra’s long tenure as BCI chairman, alleged lack of advocate welfare schemes, non-implementation of an Advocate Protection Act and a proposed increase in the registration fee for lawyers at the State Bar Council, according to an ANI.
