A counter-narrative calling for a mobilisation against the “cockroaches” has emerged across social media, with several right-wing handles and activists urging people to gather at Jantar Mantar on October 10.
The October 10 protest has been called by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and student organisations AISA and SFI against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, following an Indian Express that exposed how there were dissenting opinions within the Election Commission over decisions regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
The latest cycle of protests follows a month-long movement by the CJP against the NEET-UG paper leak, which led to the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. With another round of protests scheduled, right-wing social media spaces have warned of alleged “anarchy” being created by the CJP and other groups. In his August 15 speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also coined the term “Dimagi Naxal” to describe people who allegedly lend covert ideological or intellectual support to Maoist agendas from urban spaces.
Calls for a counter-protest
Jaipur Dialogues, a digital media channel, posted: “All Hindu Organizations should also be at Jantar Mantar on 10th October to counter CJP. Be it ABVP, Bajrang Dal, or any other Hindu Organisation working on the ground.”
The post had garnered around 922.3K views at the time of writing.
Similarly, a group named Youth Stands for Society (YSS) wrote on X: “YSS (Youth Stands for Society) is mobilising its entire team at Jantar Mantar on 10 October. We will give a befitting reply to groups like CJP —plagued by leftist, anti-national ideologies—that seek to vitiate the atmosphere solely by creating instability in the country.”
YSS claims to be a grassroots organisation that seeks to channel the energy and idealism of young people into social transformation through community action, education, relief work and development programmes.
Newslaundry reached out to YSS and spoke to its member Akash Kashyap, who said, “Close to 100 of us are going to gather at Jantar Mantar to protest against CJP.”
In a video posted on Facebook, YSS founder Sagar Parashar said: “Last time when CJP protested, there were riots and vandalism in Delhi and many police personnel were hurt.”
Another popular social media influencer, “Bhiku Mhatre”, wrote on X: “Bharat’s Democracy allows everyone to protest against what they feel wrong. And so Bajrang Dal Activists have started to arrive at Jantar Mantar, Delhi. Another 5 Lakh VHP & RSS Karyakartas expected to reach by Oct 10th.” The post, however, has been taken down.
‘Same template’ circulates online
Posts following a similar template have also been circulating on social media. One such template states: “Bajrang Dal is moving! Haryana BJP Youth is on the way! UP BJP supporters are reaching! ABVP students are joining! RSS & VHP units are arriving! JANTAR MANTAR | 10th OCTOBER.”
These posts also claimed that the “real fun” begins now.
Another post on X compared the proposed gathering of “nationalists” at Jantar Mantar on October 10 with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, asking: “Will People gather like it happened during Ram mandir movement!”
Another widely circulated post shows a video of several people wearing saffron scarves, with some security personnel also visible. Its caption claimed: “The first batch of Bajrang Dal have reached Jantar Mantar. Organisers say over 10 lakh from RSS and VHP are set to land by October 10. Delhi is waiting don’t stay at home the ground is set be there.”
However, the video could be traced back to at least August 20 and is not recent footage.
Calls for mobilisation and confrontation
X user Hindu Arun Kosi, whose bio describes him as “Blind devotee, first Modi devotee, IT Cell wala Managing director Maanvi Interiors, father of the words #Yadmulla #Pandmulla #Paise_Ka_Peer Sales Head SMTI”, posted a video showing several men inside a gym. He wrote: “Preparing for October 10, our gym boy. Come on, cockroaches.” The post also tagged CJP leader Saurav Das.
In another video, Kosi was seen sitting in a car with a wooden stick in his hand. The caption said: “On 10 October at 10 AM, our convoy will set off from in front of Ambience Mall on the National Highway towards Jantar Mantar. All nationalists gather there. We need to teach these cockroaches such a lesson that they remember it for life.”
CJP leader Ashutosh Ranka also took to social media, claiming that fringe groups were being mobilised for the October 10 protest.
VHP-Bajrang Dal denies mobilisation
Amid claims circulating on social media that Bajrang Dal workers will arrive at Jantar Mantar on October 10, the organisation has denied planning to participate in the counter-protest.
In a post on its X account, Bajrang Dal said: “Meanwhile, on the other hand, some people are engaged in misleading, malicious propaganda about the arrival of Bajrang Dal workers at Jantar Mantar. Whereas there is no such plan from the side of Bajrang Dal.”
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