NEW DELHI, India – Indian police detained leaders of a youth led protest movement in New Delhi on Saturday as thousands of security personnel moved to prevent demonstrations over changes to the country’s voter register that have removed about 130 million names.
The Cockroach Janta Party, a youth movement that has emerged as a prominent critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, called the demonstration to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The protesters accuse election officials of overseeing a politically motivated process that could benefit Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), allegations the party and the Election Commission have denied.
The group said its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, and other senior leaders were detained when their flight arrived in New Delhi shortly before 11 a.m. local time. The leaders had travelled to the capital to join the planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site in central Delhi.
The detentions came amid a major security operation across the capital. Police erected barricades, deployed thousands of security personnel and restricted access to central areas. Mobile internet services were suspended around the protest area, while several metro stations were closed and some long distance train services were cancelled.
Despite the restrictions, students and other demonstrators attempted to reach Jantar Mantar. Journalists covering the protests reported seeing police detain demonstrators and take them away in buses and vans. The precise number of people detained remained unclear, although Reuters reported that a police source put the number detained in one area at about 200.
The crackdown also affected protest organisers outside the capital. Members of the movement said police had visited the homes of some coordinators to prevent them from joining the demonstration. Student groups travelling to Delhi also faced detentions, adding to tensions ahead of the planned rally.
The dispute centres on a nationwide voter verification exercise that has resulted in about 130 million names being removed from electoral rolls at the draft revision stage. Election Commission data cited by Reuters indicates that the entries included about 63 million people recorded as having relocated, 30 million who could not be traced and 28 million recorded as dead.
The Election Commission has said the revision process is not complete and that people whose names were wrongly removed can apply to be registered again. Critics, however, argue that the scale of the deletions raises concerns about eligible citizens losing their right to vote, particularly among vulnerable communities.
Opposition parties have also questioned whether the exercise could affect election results. Their concerns intensified after reports that senior election officials had raised objections to aspects of the revision process. The opposition has called for greater transparency and demanded Kumar’s resignation.
The protests form part of a wider wave of youth activism in India, with campaigners raising concerns about electoral integrity, unemployment and problems in the education system. The Cockroach Janta Party began as a satirical online movement but gained national attention through demonstrations over alleged examination irregularities and demands for government accountability.
The latest confrontation presents another challenge for Modi’s government as India prepares for key state elections in 2027. The government has not publicly announced a change in its position on the voter roll revision, while the BJP has rejected claims that the exercise is intended to influence election results.
As security forces continued to restrict movement around central New Delhi on Saturday, it remained unclear how many protesters would reach the designated site or whether the organisers would be able to sustain the demonstration.
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