Leaders of 'cockroach' movement detained
NEW DELHI — Top leaders of India's "cockroach" youth movement were detained on Tuesday after they jumped barricades to enter the grounds of a historic observatory popular for protests, chanting slogans demanding the chief election commissioner's resignation over a controversial revision of voter lists.
Supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, and opposition groups have held almost daily protests this month to demand commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over the revisions critics say favor Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP.
The Election Commission has denied favoring any party and said wrongly deleted voters can re-enroll, while the BJP has accused rivals of trying to undermine democracy by wrongly questioning legitimate electoral processes.
Thousands joined a protest march by opposition groups on Monday, after a clampdown foiled CJP's plans for a weekend demonstration, with police detaining thousands of protesters, including CJP leaders.
Delhi Police announced on Monday that the Jantar Mantar openair observatory, in the national capital's central business district, was no longer designated as an official protest site, and said three new venues had been identified.
The CJP said its leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das, and Ajinkya Shinde were among about 20 volunteers who "sneaked" inside the observatory to "reclaim" it and were detained.
"You cannot denotify the resistance," CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said on X after their detention.
A CJP livestream showed about a dozen volunteers jumping a gate and barricades to reach the site, where they waved the Indian flag and chanted slogans before police detained them.
Delhi Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The youth movement, which has mobilized protests in recent months against issues ranging from government school infrastructure to jobs, is among the biggest political challenges to the BJP.
A weekslong sit-in by its supporters at Jantar Mantar earlier this year forced the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam paper leaks.
AGENCIES VIA XINHUA
