NEW DELHI: Security was stepped up and police warned of traffic disruptions in the Indian capital Delhi on Friday (Oct 16) as the “cockroach” movement called for a rally in the central business district, its latest in a series of protests demanding the resignation of India’s election chief.
The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party, opposition groups, and student organisations have held almost daily protests this month demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over a revision of voter lists that critics say favours Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
More than 130 million voters were deleted during the revision but the Election Commission has denied favouring any party and said wrongly deleted voters can re-enrol. The BJP has accused rivals of trying to undermine democracy by wrongly questioning legitimate electoral processes.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke called Friday’s protest in support of two CJP leaders detained and sent to jail this week for five days for demonstrating at a protest site in violation of a ban.
CJP and left-wing student groups have urged supporters to gather at the Central Park in New Delhi’s busy Connaught Place shopping and food district on Friday evening to wave and hoist the national flag.
Delhi Police, however, urged people not to join “such assemblies”, and the civic authority announced late on Thursday that the park itself would be closed for two days “due to administrative reasons”.
