India brings in thousands of police as ‘Cockroach’ movement vows Saturday march in Delhi

India has deployed thousands of police and paramilitary personnel across New Delhi ahead of a planned mass protest on Saturday, as the youth-led India voter-roll protest movement shows no sign of backing down.

More than 20,000 officers have been deployed in the capital, according to the Press Trust of India, a day before the Cockroach Janta Party’s planned “mass mobilisation” demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Yellow metal barricades line key roads in the city centre, restricting access to Jantar Mantar, the government-designated protest site where police have not authorised any rallies.

Barricades up around Jantar Mantar

Security has been tightened at multiple points across central Delhi. According to a government document seen by Reuters, thousands of police and paramilitary personnel, including units drawn from sensitive areas such as Indian-administered Kashmir, are being brought into the capital for the weekend.

Police in Delhi said the Cockroach Janta Party did not have permission for Saturday’s protest and warned that participants could face legal action if they violated rules. The party, meanwhile, said police in several states were already detaining thousands of its supporters as they travelled towards the capital. Reuters said it could not immediately verify those claims.

Dipke vows to march ‘come what may’

Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, said on Friday that he would land in Delhi and march to Jantar Mantar regardless of the restrictions. “I’ll be landing in Delhi tomorrow and will march to Jantar Mantar, come what may,” he wrote on X. Addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added: “The youth of this country are no longer scared of you.”

The party began in May as a satirical online movement but has grown into a visible street force. An earlier campaign by the group over leaked examination papers forced the resignation of the country’s education minister, and its organisers now argue that voter registration is an even more fundamental issue.

Opposition turns to the President

The Congress party has called a meeting of allies from more than a dozen parties opposed to Modi and the BJP. The opposition bloc was expected to meet President Droupadi Murmu on Friday evening, with Rahul Gandhi among those expected to attend.

Earlier in the week, police briefly detained Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other lawmakers as they tried to reach Jantar Mantar. Congress accused the police of using brute force, while police said the gathering had no authorisation.

Why the India voter-roll protest is growing

At the centre of the dispute is the Election Commission’s “special intensive revision” of electoral rolls, a verification exercise that the commission says is meant to remove duplicate, deceased or ineligible voters. Critics say the exercise has struck millions of eligible voters from the lists and benefits Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party.

According to Reuters, the revision has dropped 130 million voters nationwide. The commission and the BJP have denied the allegations, and Kumar has not commented on the protests or the demand for his resignation. On Friday, the commission directed officials to register newly eligible voters and those omitted from the rolls.

Protests have continued almost daily. On Friday, police stopped a group of protesters from gathering and bundled them into buses, while several nearby metro stations remained shut amid tight security. Police released many of those detained on Friday but charged several with violating orders banning mass gatherings in Delhi, a police source said.

What is the special intensive revision of voter rolls?

It is a nationwide verification of electoral lists launched by the Election Commission of India last year. The commission says it removes duplicate and ineligible entries; critics say it has wrongly deleted the names of millions of genuine voters.

Who is Abhijeet Dipke?

Dipke is the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, a youth-led movement that started as online satire in May 2026 and moved into street politics. The group first drew national attention with protests over examination paper leaks.

What happens next?

The party plans to march to Jantar Mantar on Saturday despite lacking permission. The opposition bloc’s meeting with the President on Friday evening could set the tone for the standoff over the weekend.