Who are 'Gen Next Mumbai'? Why did they protest against Abhijeet Dipke and CJP in the midst of Shivaji Park protest?

A counter-protest briefly erupted against the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) during their protest in Mumbai. It was held by a select group of protesters who claimed to be part of “Gen Next Mumbai”. They opposed the movement against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Mumbai.

Who are Gen Next Mumbai

Gen Next Mumbai is a youth social and political advocacy group. They were involved in public demonstrations near the statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar in Churchgate, Mumbai.

Gen Next Mumbai’s exact whereabouts remain unknown. While the founder of the group was not disclosed, it was made up of young people including social media influencer and political strategist Rhea Khanolkar and advocate Yash Mishra.

The Mumbai secretary and social media in-charge of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha was also seen posting glimpses of the Gen Next Mumbai protest. It is not known if he was part of the protest.

Why did they protest against CJP and Abhijeet Dipke

Talking about why the protest broke out, the CJP and its founder, one of the protesters, alleged that people like Abhijeet Dipke were talking about dismantling the constitution.

“People like Abhijeet Dipke are talking about dismantling the constitution. But today we are standing under the statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar because we know how to protect and respect the constitution. That is why we have gathered here for a peaceful demonstration; the behavior of the cockroach Janata Party will not be tolerated,” the protester said, according to ANI.

Meanwhile, Rhea Khanolkar shared that the group decided to protest against the CJP because they believe in the constitution. She alleged that the CJP is misleading people using the Constitution. She added that Dipke’s group is deliberately speaking against the Election Commission of India to mislead people. She believed that the CJP protesters were trying to convey to the citizens that India’s constitutional institutions were wrong.

What are the claims of CJP

For the uninitiated, the CJP is protesting the Election Commission and alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. They are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

This was after alleged irregularities and 14 objections raised by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, according to an intelligence inquiry report. However, the ECI maintained that the decisions regarding the SIR exercise were unanimous.

The CJP has proposed its next protest on October 10 in Delhi.

“If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign, cockroaches from all over India will march to Delhi and protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10,” Dipke said.

“And if the Delhi Police tries to stop us, wherever they stop us will become our Jantar Mantar. Ours will be a peaceful protest. We will follow the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi,” he added.