Mass arrest turns Delhi into ‘open prison’

Over 5,000 protesters, including prominent opposition leaders Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Pinarayi Vijayan, Manik Sarkar and Abhijeet Dipke, were detained on Saturday as New Delhi tightened security to prevent a demonstration demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls.

The police action triggered a fresh confrontation between opposition parties and the authorities, with protesters and political leaders challenging restrictions on movement and assembly, while Congress MP Shashi Tharoor accused the government of turning the national capital into a fortress to avoid questions about electoral integrity.

The demonstration, organised by the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and supported by activists and opposition figures, was planned at Jantar Mantar. Police had refused permission for the gathering and established extensive security cordons across central Delhi.

Following the movement, CJP founder, Abhijeet Dipke, and senior figures Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained inside the aircraft at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport after arriving from Mumbai, according to media reports.

In addition, YouTuber and political commentator Dhruv Rathee was also reported to have been detained at his residence in Gurugram before the demonstration.

Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee, former chief minister of West Bengal and leader of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), was detained after staging a sit-in near the South Avenue bus stand when police prevented her from proceeding towards the protest site.

TMC leaders Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen and other party members were also detained. Reports said the group was among those attempting to challenge the restrictions around Jantar Mantar.

Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and former Delhi chief minister, was detained separately near Lodhi Estate. His detention added to the growing list of senior opposition figures caught up in the police operation.

Pinarayi Vijayan, the former chief minister of Kerala and a senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, was also detained while attempting to join the demonstration.

He lambasted the government’s handling of the protest, describing Delhi as an “open prison” in a social media post following his detention.

Other reported detainees included former Tripura Chief Minister and CPI (M) leader Manik Sarkar, CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby, Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas, former Kerala finance minister K N Balagopal, veteran communist leader Brinda Karat and other party figures.

All India Students’ Association national president Neha Bora and activist Yogendra Yadav, as well as senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, were also among those detained during the wider series of demonstrations and attempts to reach the designated protest area.

The scale of Saturday’s operation, however, brought the dispute into sharper focus, as prominent political figures were detained alongside students, youth activists and other demonstrators.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor sharply criticised the restrictions, including the deployment of security personnel, transport disruptions, road barricades and the suspension of mobile internet services in parts of central Delhi.

In a statement posted on social media, Tharoor questioned why authorities were preventing citizens from peacefully raising concerns about the electoral process.

“A government confident in the fairness of its elections would welcome questions about them, whereas one that turns its capital into a fortress to avoid them only deepens the very suspicions it seeks to suppress,” he wrote.

Tharoor described the situation as an “undeclared Emer-GenZ”, a play on the words Emergency and Generation Z, and called for those detained to be released. “The government should provide answers, not lathis; expression, not repression,” he said.

New Delhi witnessed an extensive security deployment ahead of the demonstration, with police and paramilitary personnel positioned at key intersections, roads and government districts.

Jantar Mantar and surrounding areas were barricaded, while checkpoints and vehicle inspections restricted access to parts of central Delhi.

Police used buses and vans to transport people taken into custody, with some detainees reportedly held at temporary facilities, including Chhatrasal Stadium.

Reports said numerous metro stations were closed or had restricted access, while some railway services were cancelled or rescheduled.

Mobile internet services were suspended within a four-kilometre radius of the Janpath-Kartavya Path crossing from 10pm on Friday until 10pm on Saturday.

Tharoor cited reports of 45 metro stations being closed and around 250 trains cancelled, questioning the scale of the disruption. The restrictions affected commuters and businesses in central Delhi.

Police also issued traffic advisories and warned the public to avoid areas where security arrangements were in force.

Despite the police action, CJP said its campaign would continue. The movement’s demand for Kumar’s resignation has become a focal point for a wider opposition campaign over the handling of voter registration.

The protests have also drawn support from activists who have raised concerns about the transparency of the SIR process and the potential consequences for people whose names are removed from electoral rolls.

The protest centred on the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which opposition parties say risks excluding eligible voters.

The commission maintains that the exercise is intended to improve the accuracy of voter lists and has rejected allegations of political bias.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, however, rejected accusations of electoral manipulation.

Saturday’s detentions are unlikely to end the dispute, as the opposition and the CJP movement have signalled that they intend to continue pressing their demands.

The CJP has indicated that its campaign will continue despite the detention of key organisers. Opposition parties may also seek to coordinate their response, although the precise form and timing of any further joint action remained unclear on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi vowed to continue the protest and urged the demonstrators to continue it.

“We are surrounding you (Modi), and we are not going to back down. Mark my words: we already have the information we need,” Gandhi wrote on X. “Youth of India, I am proud of you. Keep protesting. We are standing with you,” he said.