Indian youth leaders detained after protesting at observatory

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 13 Oct, 08:02 · Archive

Top leaders of India's Cockroach Janta Party have been detained after jumping barricades to enter a historical observatory during a protest demanding the chief election commissioner's resignation.

Top leaders of India's Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) have been detained after jumping barricades at the Jantar Mantar open-air observatory in Delhi to enter restricted grounds. The leaders, including Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ajinkya Shinde, were among about 20 volunteers who entered the site while chanting slogans demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. A livestream showed volunteers jumping a gate and barricades to reach the observatory, where they waved the Indian flag before police detained them.

The CJP and opposition groups have held almost daily protests in October over a controversial revision of voter lists. Critics say the revision favours Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. The Election Commission has denied favouring any party and said wrongly deleted voters could re-enrol, while the BJP accused rivals of trying to undermine democracy.

Delhil police announced on Monday that Jantar Mantar was no longer designated as an official protest site, with three new venues identified instead. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said on X: 'You cannot denotify the resistance.' The youth movement, which has mobilised protests against government school infrastructure and jobs, is described as among the biggest political challenges to Modi and his party in his 12 years in power.

How it is being reported

• Indian youth leaders arrested after jumping barricadesPolice have detained the top leaders of India's "cockroach" movement after they entered restricted grounds in their latest protest against the election chief.The West Australian · 13 Oct, 07:46
• Indian youth leaders arrested after jumping barricadesPolice have detained the top leaders of India's "cockroach" movement after they entered restricted grounds in their latest protest against the election chief.Perth Now · 13 Oct, 07:46

In this story: Cockroach Janta Party · Gyanesh Kumar · Narendra Modi · Bharatiya Janata Party · Jantar Mantar · Delhi

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