India cracks down on ‘Cockroach’ youth protests as anger grows against Modi and election chief

Key Points:

• Indian authorities launched a massive security crackdown in New Delhi, detaining thousands of protesters and leaders of the youth "Cockroach" movement ahead of a planned demonstration against a controversial voter list revision linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.
• Police blocked access to the designated protest site at Jantar Mantar, imposed mobile internet restrictions, and set up checkpoints and barricades, effectively preventing the protest from taking place as planned.
• The protests oppose the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision, which has removed over 130 million names from voter lists, with opposition parties accusing the process of disenfranchising millions of eligible voters to favor Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, allegations denied by the government.
• The "Cockroach" movement, which gained prominence through protests over exam paper leaks leading to the resignation of Modi’s education minister, is using the voter list dispute to expand its nationwide campaign against the government.
• Opposition leaders condemned the crackdown as a suppression of democratic rights, with several lawmakers, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, briefly detained during recent protests, highlighting growing political tensions ahead of upcoming elections.