India's Cockroach Movement protests: CJP founder arrested ahead of planned demonstrations
An Indian âÂÂâÂÂcourt has extended the detention of two leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
The extension for Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das on Monday comes amid a crackdown on near-daily protests against the government.
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The two activists from the youth-led movement were arrested as they demonstrated at a historic protest venue despite a ban. Their jailing provoked a new protest in New Delhi on Friday.
The CJP is a major force behind the protests, which have demanded the resignation of IndiaâÂÂs election chief over a controversial revision of voter lists that critics say favours Prime Minister Narendra ModiâÂÂs Bharatiya â â Janata Party (BJP).
Ranka and Das were â â among 14 protesters who climbed over barricades last week to enter the Jantar Mantar observatory, the day after it was removed from a list of approved demonstration sites. A court later sent the activists to prison for five days.
Indian media reported on Monday evening that they had been detained for two more days after police requested extra time to question them. Delhi âÂÂâÂÂPolice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
âÂÂThis is an absolute mockery of the judicial system,â the CJPâÂÂs legal head, Ratna Singh, told reporters outside the court, adding that the party would challenge the order in a higher court.
The CJP, alongside opposition parties and left-wing student organisations, has led near-daily protests this month demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh KumarâÂÂs resignation, after 130 million names were removed from voter lists.
The Election Commission has said that the lists included 28 million people who have died, 63 million who have relocated, and 30 million who could not be traced. It denied favouring any party and said â â wrongly deleted voters can re-enrol.
The BJP has accused rivals of trying to undermine democracy by wrongly questioning legitimate electoral processes.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, student leaders and several of their supporters were also detained on Friday as â â hundreds poured into central Delhi for a protest in support of Das and Ranka.
However, the youth-led movement insists it will not back off. A sit-in by the CJP and its supporters earlier this year forced the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam paper leaks.