Youth-Led Protests in India Demand Election Chief's Resignation

NEW DELHI, India: Leaders of India’s youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) vowed to continue protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar after being released from police detention, as arrests and security restrictions disrupted demonstrations in the capital for a second consecutive day.

At a press conference on Sunday, CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ranka condemned the police response and accused the government of creating a “war-like situation” in Delhi. They vowed to continue the campaign, saying “this fight is on”, and said their demands now extended beyond Kumar to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

“The state is at war with its own citizens,” Das said. “An atmosphere of fear has been created in country, it’s clearly being done to save one person. We want to ask Modi and Shah, why are you trying to save Gyanesh Kumar?”

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and two other party leaders were released on Sunday, a day after they were detained upon arriving in New Delhi to join a protest at Jantar Mantar. The demonstrations followed weeks of opposition mobilisation over alleged irregularities in a nationwide revision of voter rolls, which critics say could benefit Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Das said “We will not back down,We urge people to come out and carry out peaceful protests,” he added, vowing to continue until Kumar resigns.

The Election Commission of India, which oversees elections in the world’s most populous country, has denied wrongdoing. Authorities have said the voter-roll revision was intended to remove duplicate, deceased and fraudulent entries.

Thousands of people have been detained since Saturday, according to the CJP and media reports. Smaller demonstrations continued in New Delhi on Sunday, with dozens of protesters detained near Jantar Mantar, which remained cordoned off. Police have not publicly commented on the detentions.

Security restrictions and Supreme Court intervention

Ahead of Saturday’s planned demonstration, authorities launched a sweeping security operation across the capital. Metro stations were shut, more than 200 trains were suspended, and restrictions on public gatherings were imposed in several areas to prevent large crowds from assembling.

Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel remained deployed across the city on Sunday, although metro stations reopened and previously restricted mobile services were restored. Despite the security measures and the previous day’s detentions, some demonstrators returned to the streets.

“I was detained for 10 hours yesterday,” said Aarti, 37, who gave only her first name. “I have come again today because it is important to show up.”

Ratna Singh, the CJP’s head lawyer, said in a social media post that the party’s leaders had been released on the condition that they maintain “peace for one year”.

The Supreme Court, hearing petitions challenging Saturday’s detentions and other security measures, directed authorities to ensure that people participating in peaceful demonstrations were not detained illegally.

“Detention shall only be after following a legal procedure,” Justice Joymalya Bagchi said in oral remarks.

The court also directed the authorities to ensure that internet connectivity was not disrupted, following reports of restrictions on Saturday.

The detentions drew criticism from opposition leaders and rights groups, who accused the authorities of restricting peaceful protest and press freedom. The United Nations human rights office called for the immediate and unconditional release of all those it described as “arbitrarily detained” in New Delhi. The Indian government called the UN office’s remarks “misplaced”.

CJP steps up criticism of Modi government

Since its launch in May, the CJP has attracted attention through satirical political messaging and a growing social media presence. It has become a prominent voice in protests challenging the government’s handling of election-related issues.

Following his release, Dipke sharply criticised Modi, describing the prime minister as “an embarrassment to India”.

The latest protests follow an earlier CJP campaign against alleged examination irregularities. In July, demonstrations organised by the party over the issue led to the resignation of the education minister, according to the report.

The current agitation centres on a nationwide voter-roll revision that, according to media reports, resulted in more than 133 million names being removed from electoral lists. Critics argue that the exercise has disproportionately affected minority communities, particularly Muslims, and could benefit the BJP, which follows a Hindu nationalist political platform.

Election authorities have rejected allegations of wrongdoing, saying the revision was designed to improve the accuracy of electoral rolls by removing ineligible entries. The dispute has intensified political tensions over voter registration, electoral transparency and the treatment of dissenting voices.

There was no response from Modi to the protesters’ accusations. However, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia defended the voter-roll revision, describing it as a legitimate exercise to remove the names of deceased and ineligible voters and rejecting allegations of political interference.

“These are baseless allegations being levelled by an irresponsible opposition,” Bhatia said. “The claim that democracy is being destroyed and that the constitution is being undermined has no basis and not an iota of evidence.”