Cockroach protest leaders among hundreds detained in Delhi crackdown | BBC News

A BBC News report on hundreds of protesters detained in Delhi during a demonstration by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a group not registered as a political party in India. The group says its founder Abhijeet Dipke, who started the movement in May after India's Chief Justice likened some jobless young people to "cockroaches", was detained with other leaders after landing in Delhi. The protest calls for electoral reforms ahead of key state elections and demands the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged manipulation of voter lists, which the Election Commission denies. The report also covers the nationwide electoral roll update, which officials describe as routine but which has drawn complaints from tens of thousands of people who say they were wrongly removed.

• Hundreds of protesters detained in Delhi during a CJP demonstration
• CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke reportedly detained with other leaders after arriving in Delhi
• Demands include electoral reforms and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar
• The Election Commission and the BJP deny allegations of manipulating voter lists

Hundreds of protesters have been detained in Delhi during the latest demonstration by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) calling for electoral reforms. The group said its founder Abhijeet Dipke - who launched the movement in May after India's Chief Justice likened some jobless young people to "cockroaches" - was detained with other leaders shortly after landing in Delhi. Tens of thousands of security personnel were deployed and roads barricaded ahead of the demonstration. The group - who are not registered as a political party in India - are seeking electoral reforms just months before key state elections. It has also demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of manipulating voters' lists, which the Election Commission has denied. Under Kumar's leadership, India's election commission has carried a vast exercise to update electoral rolls nationwide. It says this was a routine exercise to remove the names of dead, duplicate or ineligible voters. But in many states the exercise has been shrouded in controversy, with tens of thousands of people alleging they have been wrongly removed. The CJP and opposition parties accuse Kumar of manipulating the process in order to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Election Commission and the BJP have denied this. Reeta Chakrabarti presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Azadeh Moshiri in Delhi. Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news #BBCNews