A 30-foot-tall cockroach effigy put up in Delhi’s Pitampura ahead of Dussehra is a jibe at the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which has been protesting over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The CJP has been staging protests in the national capital over various issues. The group initially demonstrated against former education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and later joined protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The group has since joined opposition parties and student organisations in demonstrations over alleged irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls.
In June and July, CJP members staged a protest at Jantar Mantar for more than a month before marching towards Parliament on July 20.
The Shree Keshav Ramlila Committee, which erected the effigy, has said the move is not politically motivated. Committee president and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ashok Goel told news agency PTI that the cockroach represents filth and dirt, and that burning it is intended to promote cleanliness under the Swachh Bharat and Swachh Delhi campaigns. “Our goal is to eliminate filth from three areas: our homes, our immediate surroundings and society at large,” Goel said.
