Leaders of India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) were taken into custody on Tuesday morning after infiltrating a heavily secured protest area in New Delhi. The detention followed the party’s entry into Jantar Mantar, a historic site traditionally used for demonstrations, which authorities had recently removed from the list of designated protest venues.
A video posted by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke showed police removing Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das from the observatory grounds. Footage captured the pair, along with other demonstrators, scaling barricades while waving the Indian flag and chanting slogans calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The arrests come against a backdrop of intensifying political tension regarding a controversial revision of electoral rolls. Opposition figures, including supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rivals, allege the changes disproportionately benefit the ruling party, though both the government and the Election Commission deny these accusations. Critics argue the revision process risks disenfranchising millions of eligible voters by removing their names from rolls without adequate recourse.
Following the incident, Dipke and Ranka shared social media updates declaring that the protest site had been “reclaimed” and urging supporters not to retreat. Ranka later appeared in an Instagram Live broadcast from a police vehicle alongside other detainees, stating that the party would remain defiant despite the crackdown.
The crackdown occurred just one day after the federal home ministry announced that Jantar Mantar would no longer host permitted demonstrations, directing activists to three alternative locations instead. Ranka had previously highlighted the timing on X, noting that the de-notification followed closely after the CJP requested permission from Delhi Police to hold a peaceful gathering at the site.
Security across the capital has been significantly tightened since the weekend. Measures included the closure of several metro stations, disruption of train services, and the deployment of thousands of police and paramilitary forces. Reports indicate that authorities detained and subsequently released thousands of individuals, including journalists, while videos circulated online showing officers forcibly removing protesters, including women, into transport buses.
Meanwhile, broader opposition activity continued on Monday with a march from Connaught Place to the Supreme Court. The Congress party, India’s principal opposition group, also filed a petition challenging the voter revision exercise in the highest court. The current wave of activism echoes student-led protests earlier in the year over exam irregularities, which successfully forced the resignation of Federal Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in July—a movement in which the CJP played a significant role.
Tensions are escalating fast. Hope everyone stays calm and the legal system handles this fairly without further violence.
Jantar Mantar was a central hub. Moving protests elsewhere feels like a tactic to fragment opposition voices. Suspicious timing.
The voter roll revisions are serious, but breaching barricades isn’t the answer. Peaceful protest is key.
Wait, did I read that right? Cockroach Janta Party? They really leaned into that name, didn’t they?
This is a dangerous precedent. Silencing dissent by removing protest sites only fuels the fire. Where are our democratic rights?