Hundreds of protesters have reportedly been detained in Delhi during the latest demonstration by the Gen‑Z led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) over electoral reforms.
The group says the founder Abhijeet Dipke, who began the movement in May after India’s Chief Justice compared some jobless youth to “cockroaches,” was taken into custody with other leaders shortly after arriving in the capital.
Thousands of security personnel were positioned and roads barricaded ahead of the march, yet the CJP insisted the protest would go forward despite the police refusing permission to hold it at Jantar Mantar, a landmark in the Indian capital.
The movement, not registered as a political party, seeks electoral reforms just months before key state elections and demands the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged manipulation of voter rolls – a claim denied by the Election Commission.
Dipke and two other leaders, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were detained on a flight from Mumbai with CJP supporters calling the act illegal and threatening to hold the city in protest if stopped.
After the detentions, Delhi police closed several metro lines, cancelled trains, and used police buses to remove detained protesters from the site, preventing crowds from reaching Jantar Mantar.
Student activist Neha Bora, who was also detained, urged demonstrators to “hold the line,” while a protester, Sabika Muzaffar, reported her mother fearing detention and described the march as a way of defending democracy.
The CJP originally rose to prominence during July protests over education reforms and the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, drawing millions of students nationwide.
The movement’s name sprang from Dipke’s viral post on X asking what would happen if all cockroaches came together, offering a rallying cry for youth dissatisfied with unemployment, exam leaks and government accountability.
