India’s ‘cockroach’ movement leaders detained after climbing barricades at Delhi protest site

Leaders of India’s Cockroach Janta Party were detained on Tuesday after climbing police barricades at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a controversial revision of voter lists.

The CJP is a youth-led movement that is among the biggest political challenges to the BJP and Modi in his 12 years in power, with supporters and opposition parties holding protests nearly every day this month.

Climbing the barricades

About 20 CJP volunteers sneaked into Jantar Mantar to reclaim the site, climbing over police barricades before chanting slogans and waving the Indian flag. Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das, and Ajinkya Shinde were among those detained. Das posted a message declaring the site had been reclaimed and that they were being detained. Ranka later appeared on an Instagram live broadcast from a police bus alongside other detainees, appearing cheerful and saying they would not back down. It was not immediately clear where police had taken the leaders.

A site de-notified

The federal home ministry and Delhi Police announced that Jantar Mantar would no longer be a designated protest venue, with three alternative locations identified. Ranka posted on X that 30 mins after CJP went to Delhi Police asking for a date to protest at Jantar Mantar, the site was de-notified. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke had travelled to his hometown in Maharashtra after the death of his grandmother. Dipke was among several CJP leaders detained ahead of a planned demonstration on Saturday and released the next day. Delhi Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Tens of millions of names removed

The voter revision exercise has resulted in tens of millions of names being removed from electoral rolls. Critics say the exercise risks excluding eligible voters and making it harder for them to prove eligibility. Opposition parties allege the revision benefits PM Modi’s BJP, a charge the Election Commission has denied, saying it does not favour any party and that wrongly deleted voters can re-enrol. The Indian Express reported that CEC Gyanesh Kumar had disregarded concerns raised by the two other election commissioners over changes to voter registration. The Election Commission said its decisions were unanimous. The Congress party petitioned the Supreme Court on Monday, challenging the voter revision exercise.

From satire to political force

According to BBC reporting, the CJP began as online satire after India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant compared some unemployed young people to cockroaches during a court hearing in May. Kant later said his remarks had been misinterpreted, but the comments became a rallying cry. The CJP evolved into a pressure group tapping into anger over exam irregularities. It led weeks of action that culminated in the resignation of federal Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The current protests follow student-led demonstrations earlier this year over exam irregularities.

Weekend crackdown and opposition march

Several metro stations were closed, train services disrupted, and thousands of police and paramilitary personnel deployed on Saturday to prevent demonstrators from reaching Jantar Mantar. Over the weekend, police detained and released thousands of people, including several journalists. Videos and photos show police dragging people, including women, by force and pushing them into buses. An opposition march on Monday went from Connaught Place to the Supreme Court. “If Modi thinks taking away Jantar Mantar will put an end to protests, he is mistaken. Jantar Mantar is not just a location but a spirit of resistance that nobody can ever take away,” Dipke posted on X.