In brief
Abhijeet Dipke, the 27‑year‑old founder of the youth‑led Cockroach Janta Party, was arrested by Delhi police on Friday as the party staged a protest in Connaught Place. The CJP’s campaign, born from a chief justice insult, has built a nationwide network of young activists demanding the resignation of Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls. Despite Dipke’s detention, the movement has vowed to continue protesting, calling on supporters to raise the Indian flag in their towns. Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, have joined the cause while police have sealed key protest sites and removed Jantar Mantar from the list of approved locations.
Delhi police arrested Abhijeet Dipke, the 27‑year‑old founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), on Friday as the movement staged a protest in Connaught Place.
The CJP, which emerged in May after a chief justice referred to unemployed youth as “cockroaches,” grew into a mass movement that mobilises thousands of Gen‑Z activists around Delhi and other cities. Its recent focus has been the demand that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign following the election commission’s “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of upcoming voter lists.
On 16 October, hundreds of supporters gathered outside Central Park in Connaught Place, waving the Indian tricolour and shouting slogans. Police, citing security concerns, sealed the park, deployed hundreds of officers and opened a cordon around the area. While the congregation was large, the police largely refrained from force until dusk, when several demonstrators were pressed into a bus and a few were injured.
Dipke’s detention marks the second time he has been taken into custody in less than a week. A day after a flight was blocked to prevent him from reaching a march, he was released. The new arrest, however, has left the movement’s three top leaders—Dipke, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Ranka—in prison, a setback the CJP says will not dampen their campaign. "They may detain three people, but how will they stop thirty tomorrow? How will they stop three hundred leaders?" spokesperson Mehr Pasricha told the BBC.
The CJP has adapted its protest strategy by encouraging supporters to enter Connaught Place in small groups, unfurl the flag, take a photograph and leave, a move designed to sidestep police restrictions. The party’s message—"Waving the tricolour is not a crime"—has gone viral on social media, galvanising a new wave of activists.
Meanwhile, opposition leaders such as Rahul Gandhi have faced their own detentions while attempting to march to the Election Commission’s headquarters. Gandhi has called for Jantar Mantar to be reopened for protests and has marched toward the Supreme Court, criticizing the commission’s independence. Home Minister Amit Shah has defended the commission, accusing the opposition of spreading misinformation.
With three of its most visible figures behind bars, the Cockroach Janta Party remains determined to continue peaceful protest. Pasricha reinforced that the CJP has a “team and a plan in place” and will keep marching, even if the leaders remain imprisoned.
