In New Delhi, Indian police detained multiple individuals on Saturday as they disrupted the second consecutive day of protests led by the Gen Z-driven Cockroach Janta Party alongside other opposition factions. The demonstrations oppose recent modifications to voter rolls, which protesters claim unfairly advantage Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party.
The protesters are calling for the resignation of India’s election chief, Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the voter roll changes of disenfranchising eligible voters. These protests are part of a broader wave of youth-led activism this year, presenting an unprecedented challenge to Modi’s 12-year tenure.
On Saturday, around 100 demonstrators dismantled security barricades while chanting slogans such as “vote thief, leave the post” and “Gyanesh Kumar, step down.” Police responded by forcibly detaining some participants. Among those present were Independent Member of Parliament Kapil Sibal, Neha Bora, president of the left-wing All India Students’ Association, and political activists Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav.
Neha Bora expressed frustration, stating, “First they removed people from the voters list and now they are not letting us raise our voice against this. This is not acceptable.” Meanwhile, the Election Commission chief has not issued any statement regarding the protests or calls for his resignation.
On the previous day, police prevented a group of protesters from assembling, escorting them onto buses. Several nearby metro stations remained closed amid heightened security measures. Although many detainees were released on Friday, some were charged with violating orders prohibiting mass gatherings in Delhi.
Critics argue that a nationwide voter-verification initiative launched last year has resulted in millions of eligible voters being removed from electoral rolls. The Election Commission, traditionally viewed as one of India’s most trusted institutions, maintains that the exercise aims to eliminate duplicate, deceased, or ineligible voters.
In a significant development on Friday, the commission instructed officials to register newly eligible voters as well as those who had been mistakenly excluded from the rolls.
