CJP ACCUSES MODI GOVERNMENT OF REPRESSION AS MASS DETENTIONS CLOUD DELHI’S YOUTH PROTEST
October 9, 2026
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has accused the Narendra Modi government of adopting tactics reminiscent of the Emergency to prevent young people and student activists from participating in a planned protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on October 10. The organisation alleged that police action across several states was intended to suppress dissent and discourage participation in its campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The allegations came amid heightened security in the national capital and reports of activists and students being detained while travelling towards Delhi. CJP leaders claimed that members of their organisation, student groups and associated political organisations had been picked up in different parts of the country ahead of the demonstration.
CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka appealed to police personnel to question orders that he alleged were being used to target young protesters. Drawing comparisons with the colonial era, Ranka urged officers to consider how their conduct would be judged by history. He maintained that the movement was committed to non-violence and constitutional principles.
The organisation also alleged that students travelling from Pune had been detained in Madhya Pradesh, while its volunteers from Telangana were reportedly intercepted in Bhopal. In Kolkata, CJP claimed that Abdul and members of his team had been taken away by people in plain clothes to undisclosed locations. These allegations were made by the organisation and were not independently established in the report.
CJP further alleged that its organisational co-in-charge, Deepak Baliyan, was detained from his residence in Rajasthan’s Alwar district and manhandled despite recovering from a leg fracture. According to the party, he was later released. The organisation also raised concerns about police visits to the office of the Students’ Federation of India in Delhi, alleging that officers were seeking information about activists planning to attend the demonstration.
The Congress also criticised the Centre’s security preparations. Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh described the extensive deployment of police and paramilitary personnel as evidence of what he characterised as the government’s nervousness following several days of opposition protests.
More than 20,000 police and paramilitary personnel were reported to have been deployed across Delhi ahead of the planned mobilisation. Delhi Police had denied permission for the protest, citing the late submission of the application and alleged violations during an earlier demonstration. Prohibitory orders were also imposed in the New Delhi district.
The dispute centres on opposition allegations of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and demands for Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. The Election Commission and the BJP have faced sustained criticism from opposition parties over the issue, while the BJP has rejected the opposition’s campaign against the poll panel.
The CJP has insisted that the planned demonstration will proceed despite the restrictions. Its accusations have intensified the political confrontation over electoral transparency, freedom of assembly and the use of police powers ahead of the October 10 protest.
