India’s Gen Z Cockroach Janta Party protests election leader after voter roll changes

The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party launched a new wave of protests on Friday, pushing for India’s chief election commissioner to resign for allegedly altering the voter lists. Protesters accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of altering voter registration records to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. Modi and the election commission denied the accusations. The Gen-Z movement’s last round of protests in July pushed Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign over allegedly leaking university and government exams.

Footage of the initial protests in Mumbai showed the streets packed with protesters holding signs, waving flags, beating drums, and chanting. Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke addressed the crowd and characterized government leaders as thieves. The government is so incompetent that another round of protests is needed, just two months after the last ones, he said.

Did the Mumbai protests trigger others? Police in the country’s capital of New Delhi acted preemptively to stop protesters from gathering by issuing a Friday order expressly barring public demonstrations or any public gatherings of more than five people. Footage of the Friday protests in New Delhi showed police arresting protesters and barricading the designated protest site.

Dig deeper: Read Joyce Wu’s report for more background on the Gen Z protest movement’s push for government accountability.