India detains thousands to stop 'Cockroach' Delhi protest — SkimNews
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- Delhi Police detained thousands of 'Cockroach' movement protesters Saturday and intercepted movement leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Ranka at the airport upon their arrival from Mumbai, preventing the demonstration from reaching Jantar Mantar.
- Indian authorities imposed sweeping security restrictions rarely seen in the capital — stationing anti-riot vehicles with tear gas launchers, restricting mobile internet, banning gatherings of five or more people, and stopping buses and cars on roads into New Delhi.
- The protests target the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision, which has removed more than 130 million names from voter lists; opposition leaders including Congress's Rahul Gandhi (briefly detained) and lawmaker John Brittas (later detained) accuse the commission of disproportionately removing voters likely to support opposition parties while sparing BJP supporters.
- The 'Cockroach' movement began online in May, gained prominence through protests over exam paper leaks, and forced the resignation of Modi's education minister in July — a rare political setback for a prime minister in his third term.
- BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra dismissed demonstrators as 'anarchic elements' and declared 'Their flop show has been completely demolished.'
- Protesters demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar; the Election Commission and government deny allegations of voter manipulation, saying the revision targets duplicate and ineligible entries.
- State elections in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Modi's home state Gujarat next year will test the party's standing, with national elections not due until 2029.
Why it matters: The crackdown signals Modi's government is treating the youth-led 'Cockroach' movement — which already cost him his education minister in July — as a serious political threat ahead of state elections in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat next year. The opposition's claim that 130 million names have been scrubbed from voter lists turns the dispute into a referendum on electoral fairness itself, giving Modi a legitimacy problem beyond the street protests.
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