Indian authorities put Delhi under heavy security on Saturday ahead of a Cockroach Janata Party protest demanding the resignation of the country’s top election official. Police deployed in large numbers, barricaded roads and restricted transport, according to AFP reporting carried by Dawn.
The youth-led party, known as the CJP, wants Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to step down. It accuses the Election Commission of irregularities in a nationwide revision of voter lists. The commission denies any wrongdoing.
Cockroach Janata Party protest: what authorities did in Delhi
Multiple layers of barricades blocked roads leading to Jantar Mantar, the usual government-designated protest site in the capital. Police did not authorize rallies there this weekend. Officials also ordered dozens of metro stations closed and canceled several trains heading to New Delhi.
However, the Supreme Court weighed in on Friday. It said some trains must still run and that there should be no blanket metro closure, AFP reported.
The CJP says police have detained at least 10,000 people nationwide, including activists traveling by train to Delhi. Police had not responded to that claim when AFP filed its report. Al Jazeera, which cited the same figure earlier this week, said it could not immediately verify it.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was briefly detained on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported. It was his third detention in two days. His party accused police of using brute force. Police said such allegations aim to defame them.
Why voter rolls are at the center of the dispute
The revision, called a special intensive revision, began in 2025. It has removed more than 130 million names from draft rolls, including duplicates and people recorded as dead. For scale, about 969 million people were eligible to vote in India’s 2024 election, Al Jazeera noted.
The Election Commission says the exercise removes duplicate and ineligible voters. It also says it aims to stop foreign illegal immigrants from voting. Critics argue the process hits marginalized and minority communities harder.
Opposition parties say the exercise could benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling BJP. The commission and the government deny any political motive. The BJP, for its part, has long alleged that undocumented Muslim migrants from Bangladesh have entered the rolls.
Who is behind the movement
The CJP began online as a satirical movement in May. Al Jazeera reported that it grew after Chief Justice Surya Kant used the word “cockroaches” for unemployed youth, which sparked outrage.
Its July mobilization ended with the education minister resigning over an exam scandal, AFP noted. Party chief Abhijeet Dipke accused Modi of preferring to shut down the capital rather than allow a protest at the designated site. Protester Neha Bora said a movement cannot be detained.
What it means for the region
The protest is an internal Indian matter. Still, the size of the electorate and the scale of street dissent make it a story across South Asia, and Pakistani outlets such as Dawn are following it closely.
Watch for official detention and turnout figures after Saturday, any further Supreme Court directions on transport, and the Election Commission’s response to the demand for Kumar’s resignation.
