India’s ‘cockroach’ movement leaders detained in jail for five days
Summary
An Indian court ordered two leaders of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party to be detained in jail for five days after they scaled barricades at Jantar Mantar and demanded the election chief’s resignation. The detentions come amid near-daily protests over voter list revisions that opposition groups say favor Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP.
Key Points
- An Indian court ordered CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das to be detained for five days after they violated a legal undertaking and entered Jantar Mantar by jumping barricades.
- The protests are part of a broader youth-led movement against voter list revisions and other issues, with opposition groups demanding Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
- The Election Commission denies favoritism, while the BJP says rivals are trying to undermine democracy by questioning electoral processes.
- CJP says it will continue protesting and has previously forced the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam paper leaks.
