India's Cockroach Janta Party says thousands detained during New Delhi protest against CEC

India's Cockroach Janta Party notes thousands detained during New Delhi protest against CEC.

Key points

• "More than 15, 000 protesters have been detained, " Ajinkya Shinde, a CJP leader, remarked at a news conference in Delhi.
• 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.
• Although it was not immediately feasible to verify that number, the Hindu documented that more than 5, 000 protesters had been detained.
• Amnesty International denounced the "lockdown-like restrictions" and leader of the opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, called on young individuals to continue with the rallies.

India's Cockroach Janta Party notes thousands detained during New Delhi protest against CEC. AFP Published October 10, 2026 Updated October 11, 2026 12: 48am. Join our Whatsapp Channel.

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 remarked on Saturday, indian police detained the head of the Cockroach Janta Party.

In practice, the protest is the culmination of weeks of opposition mobilisation after allegations of misconduct during a nationwide voter-roll revision by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and two other leaders were detained before disembarking from a flight in the capital, according to a statement from the movement.

"They're being denied access to their lawyers and cut off from all contact with others, " it remarked, adding the trio had been taken to "an undisclosed location".

According to The CJP additionally, 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.

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 remarked.

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 remarked his commission's voter-roll revision could disenfranchise millions of constituents and benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Notably, 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.

Meanwhile, the demonstrations are widely seen as a reprise of the "cockroach" movement's mass mobilisation in July. It 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.

Meanwhile, 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 individuals.

According to The matter flared up last month when Indian Express, key decisions linked to the revision were probable taken without the approval of two of the three election commissioners.

In practice, the ECI, a constitutional body, notes 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 a number of miles after navigating security barricades to secure close to the Jantar Mantar protest site.

"I am here to protect the constitution, " remarked the 24-year-old. This person provided only one name. "Why do I need permission to peacefully express my opinion?"

"Youth of India, I am proud of you. Keep protesting. We are standing with you, " he remarked.

Media outlets, including the Scroll and Newslaundry, remarked their journalists had additionally been detained briefly.

For context, the United Nations' human rights office pressed India to release those "arbitrarily detained" in the protests and expressed concern at reports of mass detentions.

BJP spokesman Sambit Patra remarked 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 remarked to journalists.

Notably, 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.

Meanwhile, the ECI has remarked the voter-roll revision identifies fraudulently registered voters and seeks to prevent "foreign illegal immigrants" from voting. Critics say the drive has disproportionately affected marginalised and minority communities.

Members of Modi's party have long alleged that sizeable numbers of undocumented Muslim migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh have fraudulently entered India's electoral rolls.

Political analyst Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay informed AFP the protest comes at a time when Modi appears to be "at his weakest politically and individually".

"I see this becoming a bigger challenge in the coming months, " Mukhopadhyay remarked.

Taken together, the developments around india' s Cockroach Janta Party says thousands detained during New Delhi protest against point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.