Police detained India’s ‘cockroach’ movement founder Abhijeet Dipke on Friday, lstudent leaders and supporters on Friday as hundreds poured into central Delhi, waving the national flag and demanding the resignation of India’s election chief.
The youth-led ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ (CJP), opposition groups and student organisations have held almost daily protests this month demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over a revision of voter lists that critics say favours Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
More than 130 million voters were deleted during the revision, but the Election Commission has denied favouring any party and said wrongly deleted voters can re-enrol. The BJP has accused rivals of trying to undermine democracy by wrongly questioning legitimate electoral processes.
Dipke called Friday’s protest in support of two CJP leaders detained and sent to jail this week for five days for demonstrating at a protest site in violation of a ban.
The group and left-wing student organisations had urged supporters to gather at the Central Park in Delhi’s busy Connaught Place shopping and food district on Friday evening to wave and hoist the national flag.