Indian police crack down on 'Cockroach' protest in Delhi

Key Points:

• Indian authorities deployed 43,000 police and security personnel in New Delhi and detained Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders, including founder Abhijeet Dipke, to prevent an unauthorized protest against voter list revisions and demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.
• Prominent opposition figures such as Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan, and Rahul Gandhi were also detained amid a police crackdown, drawing accusations from opposition leaders that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is suppressing dissent and undermining democracy.
• The Election Commission defended the voter list revision as a measure to remove duplicate and ineligible voters, while critics warn it could disenfranchise millions and favor the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
• Journalists covering the protests faced brief detentions and alleged assaults, prompting calls from press freedom organizations for police to allow unhindered media coverage and return seized equipment.
• Despite detentions and heavy security, the CJP appointed Ajinkya Shinde as interim protest leader to continue demonstrations, with opposition politicians condemning the crackdown as repressive and likening it to a state of emergency.