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In May 2026, a group of young people launched an online movement under the name "Cockroach," dripping with sharp satire. Founder Abhijeet Dipke adopted the label as a symbol of being "un-killable" — you try to crush us, but we only multiply.
At first, it felt more like an internet subculture carnival. They made music, posted memes, and wrote jokes on banners. But in July, when the movement pivoted to nationwide demonstrations against exam paper leaks, everything changed. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned, and CJP proved it was more than just keyboard warriors.
Now, that fire has reached the Election Commission.
The flight carrying CJP founder Abijeet Dipke and core members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka had just landed from Mumbai when Delhi Police boarded the aircraft.
In a video posted to social media, Dipke captured the moment: "The entire Delhi Police force is boarding the plane... This is dictatorship. Even Indira Gandhi did not do this. We only wanted to protest peacefully, and they are dragging us off a flight like criminals."
What police personnel told him was different: "This is not an arrest, please cooperate."
The three were eventually taken to separate locations and detained. Meanwhile, CJP legal team head Ratna Singh was also picked up near her residence.
Delhi Police said the protest permission application was submitted too late and was therefore not approved.
CJP is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, on the grounds that the Election Commission, during the "Special Intensive Revision" (SIR) process, removed over 130 million names from the voter rolls — an alleged systematic stripping of opposition voters' voting rights.
The Election Commission and the government say this was merely a cleanup of duplicate and deceased voter records.
But the controversy doesn't stop there. According to multiple media reports, serious fractures have emerged within the Election Commission. The other two election commissioners are said to have filed at least 14 formal dissents against Gyanesh Kumar's decisions over 10 months, involving issues such as unapproved modifications to Form 6 and unilateral moves toward centralizing the voter database.
Article 324 of the Constitution states that the powers of the Election Commission belong to all its members collectively, not to the Chief Commissioner alone. The opposition alleges that Gyanesh Kumar has turned this constitutional body into a "one-man Election Commission."
"This Is Not a Protest, This Is a Siege"
Jantar Mantar and its surrounding areas were sealed off with layer upon layer of yellow metal barricades, with thousands of police and paramilitary forces deployed at key intersections. Mobile internet was cut off in parts of the capital, metro services were restricted, and train schedules were cancelled.
At major entry points into Delhi, police boarded buses and private vehicles to search for people heading to the protest site. Anti-riot vehicles equipped with tear gas launchers stood ready along major routes.
Renowned economist Jean Drèze was carried away by seven or eight police officers as he attempted to sit in protest near Jantar Mantar. Student activist Neha Bora was detained in South Delhi. More than 500 people were taken into police custody that day.
A student who travelled from Mumbai, Tanya Negi, told reporters: "We are a democracy, and peaceful protests are being suppressed by force. Should we not fight for our rights?"
Just days earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and a group of opposition MPs attempted to march to the Election Commission headquarters and sat on the road in protest after being stopped by police. Gandhi posted on social media: "Gyanesh, it's done, brother. Time to resign."
The ruling BJP took a very different stance. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra characterized the protest as "the failed drama of anarchists," saying "India is calm and moving forward under good governance."
BJP national president Nitin Nabin's accusation was even sharper: "You cannot tolerate India moving forward as a self-reliant, empowered nation, and you are trying to destroy it at the behest of foreign forces."
On the same day Dipke was detained, his grandmother, Savitribai Shankarrao Dipke, passed away at her home in Hingoli district, Maharashtra, at the age of 85.
In a statement, CJP accused Delhi Police of "playing petty politics over a personal tragedy," saying Dipke's family and lawyer were not informed of his whereabouts. Police sources said Dipke had been informed of his grandmother's death and could choose to return home for the funeral or remain in custody.
CJP already proved in July's anti-paper-leak movement that it could force the government to back down. But this time the opponent is different — directly challenging the Election Commission and the core power structure of the Modi government carries higher risks and higher stakes.
With multiple state elections approaching, this controversy over voter rolls is becoming a larger political flashpoint. What protesters want to know is: does a Chief Election Commissioner accused of acting unilaterally have the right to decide who can vote in the world's largest democracy?
What the government wants to prove is: street pressure will not change the institutional process.
Neither side's answer has arrived yet.
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