The "cockroach movement" is back again. Why are Indian youths protesting?

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) Thousands of demonstrators in New Delhi marched to the Supreme Court on Monday (October 12), demanding the resignation of India's Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and filing a petition to the Supreme Court over the dispute over the revision of the electoral roll.

Since October, the Indian capital, New Delhi, has been in turmoil for days due to an electoral roll revision process that began last year. The Indian Election Commission deleted more than 130 million names from the electoral roll. The committee said the revisions were aimed at clearing out errors in the electoral rolls, such as the names of deceased persons, those who had permanently emigrated overseas, and duplicate registration information, while also avoiding "the inclusion of illegal aliens on the rolls."

Further reading - "Cockroach" movement leaders meet with the government: Why do Indian youth take to the streets?

Questioning the amendments that benefit the ruling party, the protest was banned by the police

However, critics believe that the Election Commission has gone beyond the above scope. The revision could benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and disproportionately affect Muslim voters and other minority groups, who are less supportive of the Hindu nationalist ruling party. Both the Election Commission of India and the Bharatiya Janata Party denied the allegations.

The "Cockroach People's Party" was originally scheduled to hold a demonstration at Jantar Mantar on the 10th. However, the police suppressed the crowd on the grounds that the protest had not been approved and was an "illegal assembly." They arrested the party's founder Abhijeet Dipke and other three people who had just gotten off the plane; they were released the next day. However, at the rally on the 13th, another youth leader of the party was arrested.

Jantar Mantar becomes an important base for the "cockroach movement"

Jantar Mantar is an important protest site for the "Cockroach Movement". It was here when the CJP launched a demonstration against the Indian examination system in July this year. The protest later forced the Indian Minister of Education to resign. This was regarded as a major victory for the "Cockroach Movement" and a rare concession made by the Modi government in the face of popular protests.

On Monday, the CJP issued an ultimatum to the police, asking the government to allow people to demonstrate at Jantar Mantar and to determine a date and time, but the police designated other alternative protest venues.

Dipke posted on the X platform on the 13th and tagged Modi's account: "You can't cancel the people's resistance."