Indian police detain ‘Cockroach’ founder ahead of Delhi protest

Key Takeaways

Police detained Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), before a protest in Delhi.
The protest demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over disputed voter-list revisions.
More than 130 million names were removed from voter lists, with opposition parties alleging political bias.

Indian police detained Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), on Friday as he was leaving a house in central Delhi. The detention came as hundreds of protesters gathered in the city, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over disputed voter-list revisions.

The CJP, along with opposition groups and student organisations, has been staging near-daily demonstrations this month, alleging that changes to electoral rolls favour Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Election Commission denies any political bias and states that wrongly deleted voters can re-enrol. However, opposition parties argue that the changes disproportionately affect Muslims and other minorities.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh accused the opposition Congress party of using young people for political ends, saying they were being turned into 'pawns in the politics of anarchy'.

Protests also took place in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Patna, adding to mounting pressure on the election chief, whose resignation protesters have demanded throughout the month.

The latest demonstrations follow reports that more than 130 million names had been removed from voter lists since last year. The Election Commission said the deletions included 28 million deceased people, 63 million who had relocated, and 30 million who could not be traced.

Student activist Neha Bora was also taken into preventive custody as she tried to reach the protest venue. Police said Dipke had been warned earlier against proceeding with the demonstration.

Authorities closed Central Park in the Connaught Place commercial district for two days, deploying hundreds of police officers in riot gear. Nevertheless, nearly 500 protesters gathered in groups at several locations, waving Indian flags and chanting slogans.

The demonstrations were part of a series of protests against the voter-list revisions, with the CJP and other groups calling for the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner.