India’s ‘Cockroach’ leaders detained; New Delhi in lockdown

Police in India’s capital New Delhi have detained more than 1,000 protesters, opposition politicians, journalists, student union leaders, lawyers and the founders of the “Cockroach” youth movement in an effort to quash their demonstration demanding the resignation of the election chief.

The satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and other youth groups had announced a protest in the subcontinent’s capital for Saturday, aimed at Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a revision of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

The protesters accuse the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using the SIR to sway election results, ‌in collusion with its appointees in the election commission, including Kumar.

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