The key facts
- Saurav Das and Ashutosh Rana were released from Tihar jail by order of a magistrate after a week in custody for entering the Jantar Mantar site, which had been removed from the list of permitted protest venues.
- CJP emerged in May as an internet joke after unemployed youth were compared to 'cockroaches' and by July had become a major force; the protests led to the resignation of the education minister.
- The movement demands the resignation of CEC chief Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR campaign, during which about 130 million names were removed from voter rolls; the commission and the BJP reject the accusations.
Release after a week in jail
Two leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Rana, walked out of Tihar jail in Delhi a few hours after a special executive magistrate's court ordered their release, according to the legal website Bar and Bench. They had spent a week behind bars following their arrest on October 13: activists breached police barricades and climbed over the locked gates of Jantar Mantar — a historic site recently removed from the list of permitted protest venues. The men rejected the charges of unlawful entry. After his release, Das told journalists from a police van: 'Truth alone triumphs. Long live the revolution.'
From a movement to a political force
CJP is not a registered political party but a collective that emerged in May as an internet joke after the Chief Justice of India compared unemployed youth to 'cockroaches'. Initially, the movement mobilised thousands of young people to protest over an exam paper leak. By July it had become a noticeable force: a march to parliament that same month ended in clashes with police, which drew attention to the movement and increased pressure on the government. Ultimately, India's education minister resigned.
Demand for the resignation of the CEC chief
Since then, CJP has shifted its focus to the electoral system. Together with opposition parties, students and other critics of the government, the movement accuses Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of conducting the 'Special Intensive Revision' (SIR) of voter rolls in favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both the BJP and the Election Commission reject these accusations. Under the SIR, about 130 million names have been removed from voter rolls since last year. Critics warn that the process could also disenfranchise eligible citizens, depriving them of the right to vote; according to the commission, the purpose of the revision is to remove ineligible, deceased and duplicate entries.
Image source, Reuters Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka have spent a week in jail after being accused of trespassing
Image source, Ashutosh Ranka/X CJP members were detained by police after unfurling the Indian flag and shouting slogans at Jantar Mantar
