MASS ARRESTS REPORTED ACROSS INDIA TARGETING ‘COCKROACH JANATA PARTY’ MEMBERS AHEAD OF OCTOBER 10 PROTESTS

Fri 09 October 2026:

Thousands of activists and students reportedly detained ahead of major anti-government demonstrations in New Delhi

India’s newly formed Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) says authorities have detained thousands of its supporters and members of student organisations as protests intensify over controversial changes to voter registration lists and demands for the resignation of the country’s chief election commissioner.

Thursday’s demonstrations took place ahead of larger anti-government protests planned for Saturday, when thousands of demonstrators are expected to gather at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site in the capital, New Delhi.

The CJP emerged in mid-May following remarks by Chief Justice Surya Kant, who described unemployed young people as “cockroaches”. The comments triggered widespread public anger and helped the movement attract a growing following among India’s youth.

Ashutosh Ranka, a spokesperson for the movement, claimed in a post on X on Thursday that “at least 10,000” people associated with CJP demonstrations, student organisations, grassroots groups and political parties had been detained across the country.

Among those reportedly taken into custody was CJP national spokesman Deepak Baliyan, according to statements released by the movement.

The CJP also alleged that a group of students travelling from the western Indian city of Pune to New Delhi to participate in the planned demonstrations had been detained and transported by bus to an undisclosed location.

Responding to a video showing activists being taken away, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke wrote: “Why not just declare EMERGENCY?”

The reported detentions come amid heightened political tensions over the Election Commission’s revision of voter lists, an issue that has become a major point of confrontation between the government and opposition parties.

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Opposition accuses election body of favouring Modi’s BJP

Opposition parties and students associated with the CJP movement are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the Election Commission of conducting a voter-list revision that benefits Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

India’s Election Commission has removed more than 130 million names from voter lists, according to the figures cited in reports on the controversy, while millions of people have appealed against their removal.

The scale of the changes has raised concerns about voter access and the potential impact on electoral participation. Approximately 969 million people were eligible to vote in India’s 2024 general election, underscoring the significance of any changes to registration records in the world’s largest electorate.

Opposition groups allege that the revisions have disproportionately affected voters likely to support opposition parties, while benefiting the BJP by removing potential opponents from the electoral rolls or adding voters more likely to support the ruling party.

The Election Commission and the government reject the allegations, maintaining that the exercise is intended to eliminate duplicate and ineligible entries and ensure that only eligible citizens remain registered.

The dispute has intensified broader concerns about electoral transparency, political accountability and the independence of institutions responsible for overseeing elections.

‘Every vote matters’: Students take to the streets

Thousands of CJP supporters gathered in Bengaluru, India’s technology hub, on Thursday to protest against the voter-list changes and demand accountability from election authorities.

Demonstrators carried placards bearing slogans including “Every name counts, Every vote matters” and “Stop the Murder of ⁠Democracy”.

Khushi Shrivastava, a 22-year-old architecture student who participated in the protest, told the Reuters news agency: “I think voting right is the most basic point of democracy … People ⁠who actually want to vote, who actually care about the future of India, they are just being $denieddenied$ voting rights.”

The demonstrations reflect growing mobilisation among sections of India’s youth, who say the voter-registration controversy threatens their ability to participate in the democratic process.

For the protesters, the issue goes beyond administrative changes to electoral records. They argue that access to the ballot is fundamental to democratic representation and that any large-scale removal of names must be transparent, properly justified and open to effective appeals.

Rahul Gandhi’s detention adds to political tensions

The latest demonstrations follow the brief detention of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, the third time in two days that he had reportedly been detained.

Gandhi’s Congress Party accused police of using “brute force” against opposition demonstrators.

Police rejected the criticism, saying the allegations were being used to “defame” them. BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia dismissed the accusations as “being levelled by an irresponsible, anarchist opposition”.

The competing accounts have further sharpened political divisions as opposition parties challenge the government over the handling of protests and the voter-registration process.

Saturday protests could test the authorities’ response

The CJP-led demonstrations planned for Saturday are expected to draw thousands of participants to Jantar Mantar, potentially putting further pressure on authorities to respond to demands for changes to the voter-list revision process and the resignation of the chief election commissioner.

The confrontation also highlights a wider challenge for India’s democratic institutions: balancing the authorities’ responsibility to maintain public order with citizens’ rights to peaceful assembly, political expression and participation in elections.

Whether the protests lead to a formal review of the disputed voter-list changes remains uncertain. For now, the controversy continues to fuel opposition mobilisation and public debate over electoral fairness in a country where hundreds of millions of people rely on voter registration to exercise their democratic rights.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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