Delhi traffic: CR Park, GK-II face 5-day curbs

New Delhi experienced heightened security and traffic disruptions on Friday as the Cockroach Movement, led by the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party, called for a rally in the central business district, in their latest protest demanding the resignation of India's Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar. The protests, part of a series of demonstrations over the past month, were organized by opposition groups, student organizations, and the Cockroach Movement, which claims that the revision of voter lists, resulting in the deletion of over 130 million voters, favors Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Election Commission denies any favoritism and assures that wrongly deleted voters can re-enroll.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke led the Friday rally in support of two of their detained leaders, who were jailed for five days for demonstrating at an unauthorized protest site. Both the CJP and left-wing student groups urged supporters to gather at Central Park (Connaught Place) in Delhi's busy shopping and food district to wave and hoist the national flag.

However, Delhi Police advised people not to participate in such assemblies, and the civic authority closed the park for two days due to administrative reasons. Police stated they could facilitate a group of select individuals to carry the national flag and sing the national anthem at a designated location.

Traders in the area petitioned the Supreme Court to prevent the protest, citing severe losses they would incur, while demanding compensation for losses incurred during a similar rally planned over the weekend that was halted by a security crackdown. The Cockroach Movement has become a significant political challenge for Modi and his BJP over the past 12 years in power.

A week-long sit-in earlier this year forced the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam paper leaks. The latest demonstrations erupted after The Indian Express reported that Kumar's two deputies had raised internal concerns about voter list changes, registration procedures, and digital systems.