Police detained protesters, activists, journalists and lawyers ahead of the party’s ‘Delhi Chalo’ march. Hundreds of people were stopped across Delhi as organisers planned to gather at Jantar Mantar and demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over disputed voter-roll revisions.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, calling the police action against protesters an “emergency”-like situation.
Delhi Police detain hundreds of CJP protesters near Connaught Place
Stadiums were also designated for holding detainees. Roadblocks, metro closures and restrictions on mobile internet disrupted movement in central Delhi. CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh also alleged that police surrounded her car outside her home and tried to detain her without producing written authorisation. Four reporters covering the demonstration had been detained. Police had not immediately responded to those specific allegations. Content creator Dhruv Rathee was detained at his Gurugram residence. The CJP accused the government of trying to silence young people who questioned it.
Police also said nearly 50 people with criminal antecedents were taken into preventive custody, separate from those identified as protesters. The New Delhi district was divided into 20 operational zones, with temporary detention centres established for each. Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were in force.
Police said the march had not received permission. Authorities cited public order concerns and said the organisers’ application was filed too close to the protest date. “Not even Indira Gandhi did this during the Emergency,” he said, accusing the authorities of treating peaceful protesters like criminals. “We are not afraid of you,” he added. She said officers told her they had “orders from above” but did not explain who had issued them. Lawyers protesting near the Supreme Court were also taken into custody, according to a statement by the Supreme Court Bar Association president.
The remark invoked India’s 1975-77 Emergency, when civil liberties were severely curtailed and opposition leaders were jailed under then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
“Kya aap Emergency dekh sakte hain, fraands?” the CJP asked in a satirical response to the detentions.
