On the eve of the Cockroach Janta Party’s Delhi march, a Prashant Bhushan regime change remark has met a BJP charge of anarchy, and has put the line between criticising a government and inciting against it back in view.
New Delhi: Describing the agitation against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as a fight for “regime change” and every citizen’s democratic right, Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan drew an accusation of an “anarchic” agenda from BJP leaders on Thursday, a day before the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) march in Delhi [Prashant Bhushan’s remarks at CJP press conference, New Delhi].
The remark came at a joint press conference at the Press Club of India, organised by the CJP and Left-affiliated student unions. Bhushan sat alongside CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, actor Prakash Raj and AISA president Neha Bora, while the BJP’s reply came from MP Sambit Patra and spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari.
The remark and the argument behind it
“Yes, we all want regime change. What is wrong with that? Regime change is the democratic right of every citizen.”
Bhushan went on to say that “creating disaffection for the government is not a crime as per our Constitution”, and that criticism of a government should not be treated as criminal unless it involves violence or an attempt to disturb public order. Accusing the government of “crushing democracy”, he added: “But if this kind of brutality continues, there will certainly be regime change.” He did not retract or clarify the remark.
Others on the dais
Dipke used the platform to urge people to join the march in defence of their right to vote, and questioned the deletion of 13 crore voters from the rolls. Bora, in a video message to a Bangladeshi students’ group, praised the youth of Bangladesh and told them: “You showed us the way.”
“Chaos” and “anarchy”: the BJP’s reply
In a post on X, BJP MP Sambit Patra said Bhushan had stated that “this struggle is about regime change”. He claimed that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s “sole objective” was to “orchestrate a regime change, seize power”, and added: “You believe in chaos; you believe in anarchy.”
Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari called the CJP and its supporters “anarchic”. Citing Bora’s remarks on Bangladesh as evidence of what he called a conspiracy, he said: “They want a Bangladesh-like Gen Z movement in India.” In a parliamentary democracy, he said, mandates come from elections and not from street mobilisation. No response from Rahul Gandhi or the Congress to these remarks was available.
From Kedar Nath to Section 152 BNS
The footing for Bhushan’s argument is the way courts have read the offence of sedition. A Constitution Bench in Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar (1962) upheld Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, but confined it to words or acts that incite violence or have a tendency to create public disorder, leaving strong criticism of the government, however harsh, outside its reach. In May 2022, in S.G. Vombatkere v. Union of India, the Supreme Court did not strike down Section 124A; it directed that the provision be kept in abeyance and that no fresh cases be registered under it while the Union re-examined it.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which replaced the IPC, dropped the word “sedition” but introduced Section 152, which penalises acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India, including by exciting “subversive activities” or “separatist activities”. Challenges to Section 152 are pending before the Supreme Court. On the test laid down in Kedar Nath, whether political speech calling for a change of government through democratic means can attract any criminal provision depends on the presence of incitement to violence or disorder.
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Friday’s march and the courts
The CJP has announced a march for Friday, October 16, at Central Park in Connaught Place. The New Delhi Municipal Council closed the park for October 16 and 17, and the police, who said Central Park is not a designated protest site, offered an alternative route for a “Tiranga march”. A plea against the proposed protest was also mentioned before the Delhi High Court on Thursday. The Supreme Court, which is hearing a batch of petitions arising from the October 10 protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, issued notice in all those matters on Thursday.
The statements reported here are political remarks by the speakers on either side. No complaint, FIR or court proceeding over Bhushan’s remark has been reported.
Event: Joint press conference of the Cockroach Janta Party and student unions, Press Club of India, New Delhi
Date: October 15, 2026
Speakers: Advocate Prashant Bhushan, Abhijeet Dipke, Prakash Raj, Neha Bora; responses by BJP MP Sambit Patra and spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari