Thousands of security personnel deployed as Delhi braces for cockroach protest
Several trains to Delhi have been cancelled and dozens of metro stations are shut to stop protesters from gathering.
Thousands of security personnel deployed as Delhi braces for cockroach protest
Police have been stationed in large numbers even as opposition parties demonstrated in the run-up to Saturday’s “cockroach” protest.
Sections of the Indian capital, Delhi, have been transformed into a fortress, with tens of thousands of security personnel deployed, after the influential Gen Z-led "cockroach" movement called for a major protest on Saturday.
The demonstrators are demanding electoral reforms and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over accusations that voters' lists were manipulated.
The Election Commission has denied the allegations, and Kumar has not yet responded to the resignation demand.
Police say they have refused permission for the gathering, and all roads leading to Jantar Mantar, the main protest site, have been sealed off with large metal barricades.
Several trains to Delhi have been cancelled, and police have ordered dozens of metro stations to shut in order to stop protesters from assembling.
However, Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) - the online satirical movement leading the protests - said the CJP would march to Jantar Mantar on Saturday morning "come what may".
"If you want to jail us or even shoot us we are prepared," he added in a post on X addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The CJP held a rally in Bengaluru city on Thursday against CEC Kumar
The CJP's weeks-long summer protest calling for education reforms was its first major challenge to Modi's government. The group claimed a major win when it forced education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign in July.
CJP protesters returned to the streets last week with a rally in Mumbai city to demand CEC Kumar's resignation. On Thursday, they staged a large rally in the southern city of Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore).
Student groups and opposition parties have also held protests in the capital over the past few days.
Saturday's demonstrations are being described as the biggest in recent times, as they are also backed by several opposition parties, farmer organisations and student groups.
CJP leaders say the authorities have been stopping many of their supporters from reaching Delhi.
In the capital, more than 30,000 police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed, and authorities have urged citizens to stay away from the protests.
"Under current guidelines, an application to organise an event at Jantar Mantar must be submitted at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date," she said.
She also said that in the past, the CJP had not followed "lawful directions" given to them.
"In light of the non-compliance with prescribed procedures, the failure to adhere to past legal directions, and the current state of public safety, law and order, and traffic regulation, permission for the proposed protest at Jantar Mantar is hereby denied."
The CJP has challenged police for refusing permission for the protest, saying that legally it only needs to inform police and does not require approval to assemble.
Gyanesh Kumar is at the centre of the voter-roll revision controversy
At the heart of the dispute is a contentious revision of the country's electoral rolls known as the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, which began last year.
The Election Commission says the exercise is meant to remove duplicate and ineligible entries - and so far, 130 million names have been removed from the voters' list.
But opposition parties and activists allege that many of those removed were eligible voters, and that CEC Kumar is manipulating the process to help Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in elections. Both the BJP and the Election Commission have denied the claims.
The past few days have also brought a sharp escalation in the opposition's confrontation with the Election Commission.
For three consecutive days starting Tuesday, Delhi saw dramatic scenes as police broke up protests by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and other MPs over the issue.
Videos showing police forcing Gandhi onto a bus and stopping him from climbing out of the bus window later went viral on social media.