New Delhi: Indian police detained leaders of a youth movement in New Delhi on Saturday as a planned protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar escalated amid tight security and restrictions on public movement. The demonstration was organised over concerns about changes to voter lists that critics say could exclude eligible voters.
Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, and senior members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained after arriving in Delhi from Mumbai, according to media reports. Police also detained demonstrators in central Delhi as authorities sought to prevent an unauthorised gathering.
The movement accused the authorities of trying to stop its leaders from reaching the protest venue at Jantar Mantar. The full circumstances of the detentions and the legal status of those held were not immediately clear.
Delhi Police had refused permission for the planned demonstration, citing concerns over the proposed gathering. The movement nevertheless intended to proceed with its campaign against Kumar and demand changes to the voter registration process.
The security measures affected public movement across parts of the capital. Reuters reported that 45 metro stations were shut, while police carried out checks on vehicles entering the city. Mobile internet services were also suspended in a designated area of central Delhi.
The temporary internet restriction was scheduled to run from 10 pm on Friday until 10 pm on Saturday within a four kilometre radius of the Janpath and Kartavya Path crossing. The measure applied to the designated area and should not be understood as a shutdown of all internet services across Delhi.
The restrictions followed concerns about possible disruption during the protest. India's Supreme Court also raised concerns about the impact of the security arrangements on public transport. It stressed the need for proportionate measures and directed the authorities to ensure that metro and train services were not completely prohibited or that the public was not subjected to unnecessary inconvenience.
The confrontation centres on the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision, known as SIR, of electoral rolls. The exercise is intended to verify voter records and remove duplicate entries and names belonging to people who are no longer eligible to vote.
The Election Commission has defended the revision as necessary to maintain accurate voter lists. Critics, however, argue that the verification requirements could exclude eligible citizens, particularly people who have difficulty providing the required documents.
According to figures from Election Commission data cited in media reports, about 130 million names have been removed from voter lists during the revision process. Reported categories include people who have relocated, people who could not be traced and those who have died.
The reported total should not be interpreted as meaning that 130 million eligible voters were unlawfully denied their voting rights. The reasons for the removals vary, and the extent to which eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded remains disputed.
Opposition parties have raised concerns that the revision could affect electoral participation and benefit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP has rejected allegations of political manipulation, while the Election Commission maintains that the exercise is aimed at improving the accuracy of electoral rolls.
The Cockroach Janta Party gained prominence through youth protests over examination related grievances, including allegations of examination paper leaks. The movement later broadened its campaign to include demands for accountability in the electoral process and Kumar's resignation.
The latest confrontation has brought the voter list controversy into the national political debate ahead of state elections expected in early 2027, including in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Opposition parties have argued that accurate voter registration is essential to ensuring fair elections.
The detentions and restrictions have raised questions about the balance between public order and the right to peaceful protest. While authorities can impose security measures to prevent disruption, critics argue that broad restrictions can make it harder for citizens to demonstrate and express their concerns.
Reports on Saturday described detentions among demonstrators in central Delhi, but the total number of people detained across the capital and the subsequent legal status of the movement's leaders remained unclear. The final turnout and outcome of the planned demonstration were also not fully established in the latest available reports.
The dispute over voter registration and the handling of the protest is likely to remain a focus of political debate as India prepares for upcoming state elections.