Key Takeaways
- Indian police detained the head of the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) ahead of a major protest.
- The protest, called by the CJP, demands the resignation of India’s Chief Election Commissioner over alleged voter-roll irregularities.
- Thousands of police were deployed in New Delhi to manage the anticipated demonstrations.
Indian police detained the head of the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) online movement on Saturday ahead of a major protest against the Election Commission, the party said.
Abhijeet Dipke and two other leaders were detained before disembarking from a flight in New Delhi, where the demonstration was due to take place, the CJP said in a social media post.
The protests, called by the youth-led CJP, are the culmination of weeks of opposition mobilisation following allegations of misconduct during a nationwide voter-roll revision.
Delhi Police personnel stand guard ahead of the protest, with thousands of officers and paramilitary personnel deployed across the capital.
Multiple layers of yellow metal barricades block roads leading to Jantar Mantar, the usual government-designated protest site, with police not authorising rallies at the site this weekend.
The CJP, which emerged online as a satirical political movement in May, has accused authorities of intimidating its supporters ahead of the demonstration.
The party has said that 'at least 10,000 people', including protesters travelling to Delhi by train, have been detained across the country.
The protests are widely seen as a reprise of the CJP’s mass mobilisation in July, which led to the education minister stepping down over an examination scandal.
This time, they are demanding the resignation of ECI chief Gyanesh Kumar over alleged 'special intensive revision' (SIR) voter-roll irregularities.
Authorities have ordered the closure of dozens of metro stations, and cancelled several trains coming to New Delhi, but the Supreme Court said some trains must still run and that there should be no blanket closure of metro stations.
The dictator would rather shut down the entire national capital and inconvenience millions of citizens than allow a peaceful protest at a designated protest site.
Abhijeet Dipke, CJP chief
