"You Can Detain the People, You Cannot Detain the Movement"
Police blocked a planned New Delhi rally demanding the election chief's resignation. The youth movement says voter-list changes threaten eligible voters, while authorities say they are removing duplicate and ineligible entries.
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by Sami Haddad
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Indian authorities detained thousands of people on October 10 ahead of a planned youth-led protest in New Delhi, widening a dispute over voter access into a confrontation over dissent.
Police intercepted people travelling to Jantar Mantar, the designated protest site, detained demonstrators and movement leaders, and erected barricades and checkpoints on routes into the capital. The Associated Press reported thousands of detentions. The Cockroach Janta Party, the youth movement organising the rally, put the nationwide figure at least 10,000, including people travelling to Delhi by train.
The protesters want Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign and the Election Commission to stop its Special Intensive Revision, a nationwide check of voter lists. More than 130 million names have been removed since 2025, according to Al Jazeera and Amnesty International. Protesters and opposition figures say eligible voters risk losing their votes and allege the changes favour Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP. The commission and BJP deny political manipulation.
Delhi Police said they refused permission for the rally because organisers submitted their request late. Police also said the movement had breached undertakings given during earlier protests and warned of a forceful response to anyone violating the ban, according to Al Jazeera.
"The dictator would rather shut down the entire national capital and inconvenience millions of citizens than allow a peaceful protest at a designated protest site," said Abhijeet Dipke of the Cockroach Janta Party.
This is a developing story. No official nationwide detention total or full account of who remains in custody is established, and the movement's 10,000 figure has not been independently confirmed. The reported voter-list deletions also do not establish how many removed entries belonged to eligible voters.
