Thousands of members and sympathisers of the youth wing of India, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), have reportedly been detained before an October 10 protest rally in New Delhi against the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, owing to controversy regarding the revision of electoral rolls.

According to a spokesperson of the CJP, Ashutosh Ranka, around 10,000 individuals affiliated with the movement, along with students, and others have been arrested in the country. CJP’s spokesperson, Deepak Baliyan, has been among those arrested. It should be noted that the number of detentions and the arrests themselves have not been confirmed yet.

The planned protest is linked to an increase in criticism regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Parties in opposition and some activists argue that the revision can result in removal from the electoral rolls of citizens who have the right to vote.
However, the CJP, which started out as an initiative by the youth, has become a part of a larger movement that includes the students and opposition political parties. Protests have been held in various cities as the protesters demanded changes to the voter list revision system and raised concerns regarding the independence of the election commissions.

In addition, Delhi is gearing up for the October 10 protest rally at the Jantar Mantar. Additional security has been put in place in Delhi to deal with the upcoming crowd at various locations.

The CJP insists that the alleged detentions will not hinder their plan to hold the protest. The detentions, on top of all the concerns regarding the rally, bring the issues of electoral transparency and freedom of assembly in the spotlight.

As the approaching weekend rally draws near, the size of the protest as well as the actions taken by the authorities will determine the future course of action in this controversy.