‘Cockroaches’ are back in the streets: Here is why India faces a new wave of protests

The youth-led movement is demanding the removal of the election panel chief, after millions of names were cut from the electoral rolls The protests in the Indian capital New Delhi demanding the resignation of the country’s chief election commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, have intensified, with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical youth movement joining the cause on Saturday.

Delhi’s police have moved to snuff out the protests even before they begin.

They detained CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke from inside a plane when he landed in Delhi on Saturday morning.

And YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, a known critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was detained from his residence in Gurugram.

Central Delhi has been turned into a fortress.

Prohibitory orders are in place and permission for further demonstrations have been denied.

Local reports say 20,000 police personnel are now on Delhi’s streets.

The capital’s stadiums have been turned into makeshift detention centers.

And the internet has been cut.

Up to 250 long-distance trains arriving in Delhi have been cancelled.

Restrictions have been imposed on public transport, including on Delhi’s metro system – prompting India’s Supreme Court to intervene.

The approaches to Jantar Mantar – an 18th century astronomical observatory in central Delhi, which has served as a site for the protests – were sealed earlier this month.

However, Delhi police have so far avoided the heavy-handed approach they had taken against the CJP in July, when the movement humbled Modi’s government in July and forced the resignation of federal education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Why does the opposition want the election panel chief to resign? The opposition parties allege that the Election Commission’s country-wide voter revision exercise is helping Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stay in power, and win elections in state after state.