The leader of the ‘cockroach party’, the driving force of the student revolt in India, was arrested today in New Delhi after the first of the unauthorized demonstration he called to demand the resignation of the president of the Election Commission; his party made it known. “Abhijeet Dipke arrested!”, wrote the “Cockroach People’s Party” on social media, spreading images of the ladder of a plane, indicated as the one from which Dipke was disembarking in the capital to reach the rally site.
The demonstration represents the culmination of weeks of opposition mobilization following allegations of irregularities that emerged during the Election Commission of India’s review of nationwide electoral rolls. Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke and two other leaders were arrested before getting off a flight in the capital, the youth-led CJP said in a social media post, while television networks aired footage showing uniformed police officers on board the plane. “It’s official… we live under an absolute dictatorship,” Arvind Kejriwal of the opposition Aam Aadmi Party said in a statement. “Arresting cockroaches as soon as they get off the plane demonstrates an unprecedented level of fear.”
Opposition parties and other critics say the overhaul of voter lists could disenfranchise millions of voters and benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has rejected the allegations of irregularities, saying the “intensive special audit” was aimed at eliminating duplicate and ineligible voters. Since yesterday, Delhi has been under strict security measures, with tens of thousands of police officers and paramilitary personnel deployed to prevent access to those trying to reach the main protest site in the heart of the city. Authorities closed dozens of metro stations, canceled several Delhi-bound trains and temporarily suspended mobile internet near the protest site.
