Karnataka Congress Funding Cockroach Janta Party, Claims Kumaraswamy; BJP Targets Neha Bora

Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy has alleged that the Congress government in Karnataka is funding the activities of the Cockroach Janta Party in Delhi, adding a new layer to the political battle over the youth-led protests against the Chief Election Commissioner and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The claims, made on Friday, October 16, 2026, drew an immediate response from the Congress and were backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state.

Kumaraswamy's Allegation

Kumaraswamy said that whatever is happening in Delhi to create instability in the country is being funded by Karnataka. He was reacting to a statement by Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge that the Congress and the CJP are the same. Kumaraswamy said it was shocking that a home minister should make a statement of this kind and said that at a time like this, such remarks carry serious implications. He also played a video clip of Kharge making the remark to press his point. The allegation was not accompanied by any evidence in the reports, and the Karnataka government has not accepted it.

BJP Targets Neha Bora and Rahul Gandhi

BJP state president B Y Vijayendra turned his attention to student leader Neha Bora, the president of the All India Students' Association, alleging that she was drawing inspiration from protests in Bangladesh and Nepal and the unrest in France. He questioned why Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was so helpless in the matter. The party has also pointed to an undated video that went viral, in which Bora is heard saying that the agitation in Bangladesh showed the way, and the BJP has used it to claim that the protests are being engineered to destabilise the central government. Bora's organisation has described the protests as a democratic movement.

Congress Responds

The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, B K Hariprasad, responded that the party will fund any agitation against Prime Minister Narendra Modi that seeks to save and protect the Constitution, including the one led by the CJP. He said it was the party's right to do so. The remark, made in response to Kumaraswamy's claim, is likely to intensify the debate, since it appears to acknowledge support for the protests at the party level, while the BJP says the state treasury is being used as an "ATM."

Karnataka's Role in the Protests

Karnataka is one of the few states ruled by the Congress, and CJP supporters have been active there. The party planned a Tiranga march in Bengaluru on Friday, and the state's response to it has itself been a political issue. Police first declined permission for a march from Town Hall, citing High Court directions to confine protests to Freedom Park, while a later report said the group took out its Tiranga Yatra from Town Hall after conditional permission was given. The back-and-forth has led the BJP to accuse the Congress of double standards for supporting protests in Delhi while restricting them at home.

The Bigger Picture

The BJP and its allies have repeatedly questioned the source of the CJP's funding, while the Ministry of External Affairs earlier declined to comment on allegations of foreign funding. The CJP, which began as an online satire in May 2026 and has become a major force among young protesters, says it is a people's movement. The exchange in Karnataka shows how the protests have become part of a larger contest between the ruling alliance and the opposition ahead of the final publication of the revised electoral rolls.

Without documents or official findings, the funding claims remain political allegations, and observers say any proof would need to come through a formal investigation.

This report is based on published news coverage and statements attributed to the individuals involved. The allegations have not been independently verified.