Cockroach Youth Movement Protests Voter List Purge in New Delhi

The Cockroach youth movement led demonstrations in New Delhi on Saturday to protest a revision of voter lists that removed over 130 million names since last year. Protesters allege the purge is politically motivated to favor the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, while the Election Commission of India maintains the process is necessary to remove duplicate and ineligible entries.

Authorities responded to the unrest by deploying metal barricades and using violence to disperse crowds. Police detained over 2,000 people, including opposition lawmakers and movement leaders who were taken into custody upon landing in New Delhi from Mumbai. To curb the demonstrations, the government suspended transport services and mobile internet.

The movement, which originated as a satirical response to a chief justice comparing unemployed youth to parasites, is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Following their release from detention, leaders vowed to continue the protests. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not commented publicly, members of the Bharatiya Janata Party dismissed the demonstrators as anarchists backed by foreign powers.

This unrest follows a successful summer campaign that forced the resignation of the education minister in July, signaling deepening disillusionment among Gen Z Indians toward the Hindu nationalist government.