According to Reuters and Associated Press, on October 10, local time, police in Delhi, India‘s capital, detained more than 2,000 protesters. Meanwhile, thousands of security forces personnel blocked parts of New Delhi to prevent a rally demanding the resignation of the chairman of the Indian Election Commission.
On that day, India‘s “Croaker People’s Party” (CJP) had originally planned to gather thousands of people at the Jantamanta Observatory in central New Delhi, but the area had been cordoned off by security forces before the demonstration could begin.
Currently, thousands of police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed throughout New Delhi, mobile internet services in the central business district have been suspended, and dozens of subway stations and markets have been closed.
An unnamed Indian Ministry of the Interior official told Reuters that more than 2,000 people were detained in New Delhi.
Local media reported that about 400 protesters were detained in Mumbai, India‘s financial center.
Sambit Patra, a spokesperson for Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, denounced the protesters as “anarchists”. “Their failed work has been completely destroyed,” Patra said.
Indian police arrest thousands of protesters Video footage
At the heart of the protest is the “Special Strengthened Amendment” to the Indian Electoral Commission. Opponents say the amendment deprives millions of eligible voters of their voting rights in favor of Modi‘s ruling Indian party. Protestors demand that Chief Electoral Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign and stop the reform that has so far removed more than 130 million names from voter lists.
Indian police said on 9th that they refused to approve this protest activity because the application was submitted too late.
Before the protests began, the Indian police were on standby, taking strict security measures to prevent the protests from spreading. Earlier on the 10th, the Indian police boarded a plane and detained Abhijit Deepak, founder of the Cockroach People‘s Party (CJP).
The Associated Press said the scale of the Indian police restraint was “unusual”, highlighting the Indian government‘s determination to stop this rapidly growing protest movement, which has mobilized thousands of young people, won opposition support and intensified scrutiny of the Modi government.