NEW DELHI — Parts of New Delhi remained under tight security for a second straight day as protesters pressed ahead with demands for the resignation of India’s top election official over a contentious revision of voter rolls. Thousands of protesters were detained Saturday, including Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka — leaders of the youth pressure group Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). Most were released Saturday evening, while a court ordered the release of the three CJP leaders on Sunday after they appeared before a magistrate.
Despite the heavy security crackdown, CJP has vowed to continue protesting while opposition parties led by the Indian National Congress, which spearheaded a march to the Election Commission headquarters last week, plan to resume demonstrations on Monday. The detentions and sweeping security restrictions underscore tensions facing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government as it confronts a rare, sustained wave of youth-led dissent.
The protests were triggered by a late-September investigation accusing India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of ignoring concerns raised by two election officials over changes that removed more than 130 million names from electoral rolls. The Election Commission denied the claims, saying its decisions were unanimous.
About 30,000 police personnel, backed by paramilitary forces, remained deployed across the capital. "The police deployment is unprecedented but understandable," said Ramu Manivannan, professor at the University of Madras. He warned that suppressing demonstrations through arrests could spread protests nationwide.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing