Srinagar, Oct 10: More than 1,500 people, including four former chief ministers, were detained across the national capital on Saturday as Delhi Police mounted a major crackdown on a protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the electoral process, media reports said on Saturday.
Those detained included former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was also detained in neighbouring Gurugram, while several Opposition leaders, activists and student representatives were taken into custody at different locations.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were detained upon arriving in Delhi by air, according reports. Police action was reported at residences, hotels and protest locations as demonstrators attempted to assemble at Jantar Mantar despite restrictions and denial of permission for the gathering.
The capital witnessed extensive security arrangements, with police and paramilitary personnel deployed in large numbers, barricades erected and restrictions imposed on movement. Authorities also ordered the closure of gates at 45 Delhi Metro stations and cancelled more than 250 trains, while internet services were suspended within a four-kilometre radius of Jantar Mantar.
Among those detained were Communist Party leaders M.A. Baby, Brinda Karat and Dipankar Bhattacharya, activist Yogendra Yadav, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, AAP leaders Sanjay Singh, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Gopal Rai, and Trinamool Congress leaders Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen and Saket Gokhale.
Several protesters were detained while attempting to march towards Jantar Mantar. An attempted sit-in near Dilli Haat by members of the All India Students’ Association, led by Neha Bora, was also disrupted by police.
The crackdown triggered a sharp political confrontation between the Opposition and the ruling BJP. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who was in Chennai, criticised the detentions and expressed support for the demonstrators, urging them to continue their protests. He also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of undermining democratic institutions.
Kejriwal, before being detained outside his Lodhi Estate residence, urged people to join the movement and called on protesters to stage sit-ins wherever they were stopped. Banerjee was detained near South Avenue after staging a sit-in with party leaders. She described the situation as a “Super Emergency” and said the INDIA bloc would continue its fight.
The BJP defended the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, accusing the Opposition of attempting to create disorder through street protests. Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said democracy had prevailed over attempts to incite anarchy, arguing that governance must remain within parliamentary and constitutional frameworks.
The protest also drew support outside Delhi. In Mumbai, police detained around 200 demonstrators at August Kranti Maidan, including Mahatma Gandhi’s great-grandson Tushar Gandhi and actor Imran Khan.
The CJP-led agitation centres on allegations of irregularities in voter registration and electoral processes, with protesters demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and changes to the existing framework governing elections. The INDIA bloc has also sought the suspension of the SIR exercise, restoration of deleted names on electoral rolls and a return to paper ballots, among other demands.
Opposition leaders are expected to pursue the matter through further political and legal action, with a delegation planning to approach Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday.
