India’s Cockroach Janata Party has vowed to proceed with a major protest in New Delhi on Saturday, despite reports of widespread detentions of its supporters, as pressure mounts for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The protest centres on a voter list revision that has flagged or removed entries involving about 130 million voters nationwide, prompting criticism from opposition parties and student groups.
Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the youth movement, said on Friday that he would march to Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site in the capital, despite police restrictions.
Delhi police said the party had not received permission to hold the demonstration and warned that participants could face legal action if they breached regulations.
The movement claimed that police in several states had detained thousands of its supporters travelling to the capital. Reuters said it could not immediately verify the claims or videos circulated online.
Authorities were deploying additional police and paramilitary personnel in Delhi. Some long distance trains scheduled to arrive in the capital were cancelled, while restrictions on metro services and the closure of some station exits were also reported amid concerns about possible crowd disturbances.
The controversy has drawn in opposition parties, including the Congress led by Rahul Gandhi. An opposition alliance representing more than a dozen parties opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party planned to meet President Droupadi Murmu on Friday evening.
Critics argue that the voter verification exercise could disenfranchise eligible voters and favour the ruling BJP. They have called for the process to be scrapped and previous voter lists restored.
The Election Commission maintains that the figures relate to entries flagged during a draft revision, that the exercise remains incomplete and that people wrongly removed can register again.
India began the verification drive last year ahead of elections in Bihar and has since extended it to most states. The country had at least 960 million eligible voters in 2024.
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