Delhi police detain 'Cockroach' protesters over voter rolls — SkimNews
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- Indian police detained several people in New Delhi on Saturday during a second day of protests backed by the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party and opposition groups against changes to voter rolls.
- About 100 demonstrators tore through security barricades and chanted "vote thief, leave the post" and "Gyanesh Kumar, step down," demanding the resignation of India's election chief.
- Notable protesters included Independent MP Kapil Sibal, All India Students' Association President Neha Bora, and activists Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, according to a Reuters witness.
- Friday's earlier protest saw police bundle demonstrators into buses and shut nearby metro stations; those later released were charged with violating orders banning mass gatherings in Delhi.
- The Election Commission defends its nationwide verification exercise — launched last year and accused by critics of stripping millions of eligible voters from rolls — as a purge of duplicates and deceased entries; on Friday it ordered officials to register newly eligible voters and those omitted.
- The demonstrations mark the latest in a series of youth-led protests this year, putting pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government that the source describes as unprecedented in his 12 years in power.
Why it matters: The protesters detained now span from a student union president to a sitting MP and veteran activists like Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, broadening what began as a Gen Z fringe into a mainstream institutional challenge. Critics allege millions of eligible voters have been removed from rolls — a direct credibility hit to the Election Commission, long regarded as one of India's most trusted bodies, whose chief is now personally facing resignation calls.
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