NEW DELHI: India’s capital New Delhi braced for a second day of youth-led protests on Sunday demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, as a court ordered the release of three senior leaders of the “Cockroach” movement.
Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), and two other senior leaders were detained after their plane landed in Delhi on Saturday. They had planned to mobilise thousands of protesters at Jantar Mantar in central Delhi.
The three leaders were produced before a magistrate early Sunday and subsequently released.
“Condition – no breach of peace for one year,” CJP legal head Ratna Singh said in a post on X announcing their release.
Activist and social media influencer Dhruv Rathee, who was also detained, was released shortly after midnight on the condition that he would not participate in further protests, an unnamed interior ministry official said.
Police detained more than 2,000 people and imposed restrictions across central Delhi to prevent Saturday’s demonstration. Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel remained deployed across the city on Sunday, although metro stations reopened and mobile internet services were restored.
Police said most people detained during the first day of protests were released late Saturday night.
Opposition parties and critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government condemned what they described as the excessive use of force against demonstrators. A United Nations body also urged Indian authorities to respect and uphold the right to peaceful assembly.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs rejected the criticism, describing the UN’s approach as “selective” and its statement as “an unwarranted interference in the internal affairs of India.”
The protests are demanding Kumar’s resignation over a revision of voter lists that critics allege disproportionately benefits Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been in power for more than 12 years.
Demonstrations have taken place intermittently across India since The Indian Express reported in late September that two of Kumar’s deputies had raised internal concerns about voter-list revisions, registration procedures and digital systems.
The Election Commission has maintained that differing opinions are normal during internal deliberations and denied favouring any political party.
The BJP, meanwhile, has accused its opponents of undermining Indian democracy by questioning legitimate electoral processes.
According to Election Commission data cited by the BJP, approximately 130 million names were removed from electoral rolls during a verification exercise. The figure includes around 63 million people who had relocated and 30 million who could not be traced.
The BJP and the Election Commission have denied allegations of electoral manipulation. Opposition parties, however, claim that Muslim voters and other minorities are disproportionately affected by the deletions, potentially influencing electoral outcomes.
The Cockroach Janta Party began as an online satirical movement but has since evolved into a pressure group organising street demonstrations.
Its earlier protests against examination paper leaks culminated in the resignation of Modi’s education minister, according to the report.
The CJP has branded its latest campaign against the chief election commissioner “Season 2” on social media, vowing to continue its protests until India’s electoral system is reformed.
With security forces remaining deployed across New Delhi, the second day of demonstrations is expected to keep pressure on the government and the Election Commission over voter-list revisions and allegations of electoral irregularities.
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