Abhijeet Dipke said the Cockroach Janata Party will march to Jantar Mantar on Saturday despite detentions he put in the thousands. Police said the protest has no permission.
The founder of India's Cockroach Janata Party said a protest over deleted voter names will go ahead in New Delhi on Saturday even after detentions he estimated in the thousands, Reuters reported. Abhijeet Dipke wrote on X that he would land in Delhi and march to Jantar Mantar.
The dispute is over a revision of voting lists that opposition parties and the youth movement say dropped about 130 million names. They want Election Commission chief Gyanesh Kumar to resign. Citing commission data, the Bharatiya Janata Party says the deletions include 28 million dead, 63 million who relocated, 10 million duplicates and 30 million who could not be traced.
The commission says the figures are entries flagged in a draft revision that is not finished, and that people wrongly removed can enroll again. It has said its decisions were lawful. Police in the capital said the party does not have permission for Saturday and could face legal action if rules are broken.
Reuters, citing a government document, said thousands of police and paramilitary personnel were being brought into the capital, including some from Indian-administered Kashmir. Some long-distance trains to New Delhi on Saturday were cancelled, and police asked for fewer metro services and some closed exits.
The opposition bloc was due to meet President Droupadi Murmu on Friday evening. The march itself had not taken place when Reuters published.
People Sentiments Negative
- Abhijeet Dipke said he would march to Jantar Mantar come what may.
- Police said the Cockroach Janata Party did not have permission for Saturday's protest.
- The Election Commission said wrongly removed voters can enroll again.