The Pulse | Politics | South Asia

Protests Escalate in Delhi Despite Modi Government’s Heavy-handed Crackdown

Indiscriminate arrests, detentions, police brutality, and blockades have not been able to demoralize protesters seeking the removal of the chief election commissioner.

A screenshot of a video posted by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) of a defaced hoarding of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah during anti-government protests in New Delhi, India, Oct. 12, 2026.

On October 12, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, India’s main opposition leader, led a march to the Supreme Court of India, seeking the judiciary’s intervention in what he called the election commission’s loss of integrity.

The Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, had declined to meet the opposition delegation, arguing that it would violate the principle of separation of powers. Yet tens of thousands of people, including opposition lawmakers, activists, and ordinary citizens, marched towards the apex court premises.

Monday’s protest march drew unprecedented crowds, despite the Narendra Modi government’s brutal crackdown on protestors calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

Kumar, the first CEC to be appointed under a new law that allowed the government to pick an election commissioner of its choice, has been at the center of political controversies since the launch of a Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll last year that has left millions outside the roll, leaving them at the risk of disenfranchisement. Opposition parties have alleged pro-government bias on a range of issues related to election conduct, including targeted voter roll manipulations.

Over the weekend, India stood witness to some unprecedented scenes. Police in the national capital of New Delhi raided hotels, hostels, the offices of political parties, and the residences of activists in search of suspected protesters. The goal was to foil the satirical youth network Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)’s October 10 protest in New Delhi. The CJP too is seeking Kumar’s resignation.

The CJP’s protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi in June-July resulted in Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. This time the Modi government was determined to prevent the CJP protests on Saturday.

To this end, it turned Delhi into a fortress. The assembly of five or more persons was prohibited across large parts of the city, and an estimated 30,000 police and paramilitary personnel were deployed. Police reportedly asked hotel owners to refrain from accepting fresh room bookings from people coming to the capital. To prevent protesters from gathering in New Delhi, the government took the unprecedented step of suspending or diverting dozens of Delhi-bound trains. Metro rail station gates closed across the city from 9 pm on Friday. Metal barricades blocked most roads leading to the designated protest venue, Jantar Mantar, in central Delhi. Checkposts multiplied at the city’s borders and Internet access was restricted in central Delhi. Early on Saturday morning, the police boarded a flight as soon as it landed in New Delhi to detain three CJP leaders. On Oct 10, Delhi was a city under siege. Daily life in the capital was suspended to prevent one political gathering.

And yet, thousands of protesters hit the streets in different parts of Delhi on Saturday. Thousands were detained,........

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