India 'cockroach' movement says thousands detained during major protest in capital / Photo: Arun SANKAR - AFP
India 'cockroach' movement says thousands detained during major protest in capital
Indian police detained the head of the satirical "cockroach" online movement as well as thousands of protesters trying to take part in a major demonstration in New Delhi against the country's election commissioner, the group said on Saturday.
The protest is the culmination of weeks of opposition mobilisation following allegations of misconduct during a nationwide voter-roll revision by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and two other leaders were detained before disembarking from a flight in the capital, according to a statement from the group.
"They're being denied access to their lawyers and cut off from all contact with others," it said, adding the trio had been taken to "an undisclosed location".
The CJP also said that thousands more protesters were detained in New Delhi as they attempted to march to the main Jantar Mantar protest site, defying a massive security clampdown.
"More than 15,000 protesters have been detained," Ajinkya Shinde, a CJP leader, said at a news conference in Delhi.
Police did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment on detentions.
"We will be back, let them fill up all the jails," Shinde said.
Dozens of protesters shouted anti-government slogans as they were taken away in police vehicles, AFP reporters witnessed.
Calls for the ECI chief Gyanesh Kumar to step down have intensified in recent weeks as opposition parties and critics said his commission's voter-roll revision could disenfranchise millions of constituents and benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
The ECI has rejected allegations of impropriety, saying the revision was intended to remove duplicate and ineligible voters.
Ahead of the protest, authorities in the capital deployed thousands of police, closed dozens of metro stations, cancelled more than 200 trains and temporarily shut down mobile internet around the protest site.
The demonstrations are widely seen as a reprise of the "cockroach" movement's mass mobilisation in July, which led to the education minister stepping down over an examination scandal.
This time, protesters are demanding Kumar's resignation and a halt to the voter revision exercise.
- Fresh challenge -
The accusations are a fresh challenge for 76-year-old Modi during his third term in office.
Opposition parties have long alleged that legitimate voters are being struck off lists in India, the world's largest democracy with 1.4 billion people.
The issue flared up last month when the Indian Express newspaper reported that key decisions linked to the revision were likely taken without the approval of two of the three election commissioners.
The ECI, a constitutional body, says all its decisions were unanimous and legally valid.
Demonstrators expressed anger on Saturday, telling AFP their right to protest peacefully was being hampered.
Saransh, a university graduate, walked several miles after navigating security barricades to get close to the Jantar Mantar protest site.
"I am here to protect the constitution," said the 24-year-old, who gave only one name.
"Why do I need permission to peacefully express my opinion?"
- 'Keep protesting' -
Amnesty International denounced the "lockdown-like restrictions" and leader of the opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, called on young people to continue with the rallies.
"Youth of India, I am proud of you. Keep protesting. We are standing with you," he said.
The Hindu newspaper reported more than 5,000 protesters had been detained, although it was not immediately possible to verify that number.
Media outlets, including the Scroll and Newslaundry, said their journalists had also been detained briefly.
The United Nations' human rights office urged India to release those "arbitrarily detained" in the protests and expressed concern at reports of mass detentions.
BJP spokesman Sambit Patra said on Saturday the CJP had failed in its attempt to spread "anarchy".
"What is happening at Jantar Mantar, what you can see on TV and a few social media handles, is not India's story," he told reporters.
The voter list overhaul, which began in 2025, has led to more than 133 million names being excluded from draft rolls, according to Indian media reports citing ECI data.
The ECI has said the voter-roll revision identifies fraudulently registered voters and aims to prevent "foreign illegal immigrants" from voting.
Critics say the drive has disproportionately affected marginalised and minority communities.
Political analyst Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay told AFP the protest comes at a time when Modi appears to be "at his weakest politically and individually".
Though India's next general elections are not slated until 2029, the country's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh will go to the polls next year.
"I see this becoming a bigger challenge in the coming months," Mukhopadhyay said.
R.DeCrescenzo--LDdC
