Climate activist and educationist Sonam Wangchuk has extended support to the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) proposed nationwide protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, planned to begin in Mumbai on October 2 over demands for greater accountability in the Election Commission and concerns surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Speaking in New Delhi on September 27, Wangchuk said he would “definitely” support efforts to improve electoral accountability, although he indicated he may not personally attend the protest.
The development comes amid an Indian Express investigation reporting that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over 10 months to certain decisions they said were taken without their knowledge.
The Election Commission, however, has maintained that decisions, including those relating to SIR, had the approval of all three commissioners. Wangchuk also questioned why the judicial inquiry into the September 2025 Leh violence, in which four people were killed, has not been made public nearly a year later.
He further described the latest Centre-Ladakh talks as disappointing and said he would wait until early October for a response on the region’s demands.
CJP Protest Faces Mumbai Hurdle
CJP had announced its October 2 nationwide agitation after demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over what it describes as concerns regarding the Election Commission’s functioning and the SIR process.
The organisation had given Kumar a 48-hour deadline on September 24 and said the protest would begin in Mumbai before expanding to other parts of the country. Its stated demands include Kumar’s resignation, a halt to the SIR and restoration of the January 2025 electoral rolls, along with reforms to the legal framework governing the Election Commission.
The planned Mumbai protest has since encountered an administrative hurdle. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said Mumbai Police had denied permission for the October 2 demonstration. Police, however, said they were not empowered to grant permission for a public gathering at Shivaji Park under existing court and Maharashtra Government orders and advised the organisers to seek an alternative venue. CJP responded by announcing that it would consider a “Jail Bharo Andolan” if it was prevented from protesting.
The dispute comes amid renewed scrutiny of the Election Commission following an Indian Express investigation, which reported that Sandhu and Joshi had recorded at least 14 objections over 10 months concerning electoral-roll management, including voter additions and deletions, changes to Form 6 and access to electoral-roll data. The Election Commission has rejected suggestions of an institutional breakdown, saying that SIR and other decisions had been approved unanimously by all three commissioners.
Wangchuk Seeks Accountability
Wangchuk said he supported the CJP’s campaign because efforts aimed at improving accountability in the electoral process deserved support. He also referred to his earlier support for CJP’s Jantar Mantar protest and said he could not personally participate in every movement. “Clean election process is the biggest need of the country, and I fully support it,” he was quoted as saying. He also described October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, as a significant day for such a protest.
At the same time, Wangchuk’s comments were not a confirmation that he would physically join the Mumbai protest. He said movements should develop their own strength and pointed to the emergence of other voices raising questions about electoral accountability. His support therefore comes as a public endorsement of the broader demand for accountability, rather than a confirmed commitment to participate at the protest site.
The controversy follows wider debate over SIR. The Indian Express reported that more than 13 crore names were removed from draft electoral rolls across 30 States and Union Territories during the exercise.
The report also documented objections from two of the three Election Commissioners. The Commission has maintained that SIR decisions were unanimous, making the distinction between reported internal objections and the EC’s official position important when assessing the controversy.
Leh Inquiry Still Unreleased
Wangchuk also used the September 27 press conference to renew his demand for the release of the judicial inquiry report into the September 24, 2025 violence in Leh.
Four people were killed in police firing during protests linked to demands for statehood and constitutional safeguards for Ladakh. The Union Government had subsequently constituted a judicial inquiry headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice B S Chauhan to examine the events surrounding the violence.
Almost a year later, Wangchuk questioned why the findings had not been made public. He asked who ordered the firing, whether prescribed crowd-control procedures had been exhausted before live ammunition was used and whether the deaths could have been prevented.
He has also sought higher compensation for the families of those killed and withdrawal of cases against people he says were not involved in the violence. These remain demands and questions raised by Wangchuk; the publicly available reporting does not establish his allegations as findings of the judicial inquiry.
The issue has remained central to the wider Ladakh movement, with a shutdown observed in parts of the region on the first anniversary of the violence. Wangchuk’s renewed demand for the inquiry report comes alongside calls for greater accountability and closure for the families of those who died.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
The developments around CJP’s proposed protest, the Election Commission and the unresolved Leh inquiry underline the importance of transparency and peaceful democratic dialogue. Whether the concerns involve electoral-roll revisions or the circumstances surrounding deaths during a protest, institutions earn public trust when decisions, procedures and findings are explained clearly and made accessible wherever legally possible.
At the same time, demands for accountability are best pursued through peaceful protest, evidence-based public debate and dialogue rather than confrontation.
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