Delhi Police detained key leaders of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Tuesday after they breached barricades at Jantar Mantar to protest against voter list revisions and the government's decision to ban demonstrations at the historic site.
CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das, and Ajinkya Shinde were among 20 activists detained after jumping iron gates to "reclaim" the venue. Raising slogans like "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Inquilab Zindabad" the group confronted police officers before being taken into custody.
The flash protest followed a central government decision to revoke Jantar Mantar’s status as a designated protest venue with relocating public demonstrations to Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and CBD Ground.
"You cannot denotify the resistance" said CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke in a post on X also warning that similar protest sites would emerge across India.
The CJP and opposition parties have staged widespread demonstrations demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls. Reports revealed internal concerns raised by election officials regarding digital procedures and registration changes.
The overhaul removed over 130 million names from India's voter lists with citing deaths, relocations and untraceable individuals. Opposition parties allege the deletions disproportionately target Muslim and minority voters.
The Election Commission has denied accusations of bias, stating affected voters may re-enroll while the ruling BJP accused rivals of undermining democratic processes.
