Youth groups vowed to continue their protest until CEC Gyanesh Kumar resigns after police detained several key organisers on Saturday, October 10, 2026. Ajinkya Shinde said, "We will come back tomorrow and walk towards Jantar Mantar again." Many students joined the movement to demand a rollback of the SIR policy.

CJP, Left Student organisations allege crackdown on protesters; demand rollback of SIR and resignation of CEC

Leaders of youth and student organisations on Saturday (October 10, 2026) vowed to continue their protest until all their demands, including the rollback of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, were met, despite the detention of several key organisers ahead of the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) planned demonstration in New Delhi.

"We will come back tomorrow and walk towards Jantar Mantar again," said Ajinkya Shinde, national organisation in-charge of the CJP, at a joint press conference with representatives of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and All India Students' Federation (AISF) later in the evening.

Keep track | Anti-CEC protest LIVE updates: Supreme Court to hold Sunday special hearing on contempt petition against shutdown of transit corridors, metro stations across Delhi

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and co-convenors Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were detained on arrival at Delhi airport. Hours later, SFI's Aishe Ghosh and AISA's Neha Bora were also detained along with other members of the Left front.

"All these detentions show the fascist nature of the government and how it is afraid of the youth after July's protest. They stopped buses and trains to prevent us from gathering. They stopped everything within their control except air and water. Protesters, students and citizens have all been tracked and detained," said Mr. Shinde.

He said this was just the beginning of the fight and the protests would not stop "until Gyanesh Kumar resigns".

Shinde to lead protest

Mr. Shinde was named to lead the protest soon after CJP's top leadership was detained. In a video message posted on X following their detention, Mr. Dipke said, "If you are watching this video, it means Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das, and I have been taken into custody. The movement does not end here. Ajinkya Shinde will lead the protest at Jantar Mantar for as long as we remain in detention. Please follow Ajinkya Shinde as he carries this fight forward."

Anticipating arrest, Mr. Dipke recorded the video message on Friday (October 9) night.

Mr. Shinde alleged that the police did not allow Mr. Dipke to speak over the phone to his lawyer or the family, even as news of the death of Mr. Dipke's grandmother came.

The CJP said Mr. Dipke, Mr. Das and Mr. Ranka had been taken to different locations across the Delhi-NCR region.

"Wherever protestors were stopped, that became the Jantar Mantar. How will they stop so many people? We are fighting for our democratic rights, voting rights, and we will fight till the very end. It is the first time that such serious allegations have been levelled against the Election Commission of India," said SFI general secretary Srijan Bhattacharya.