India
oi-Madhuri Adnal
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who are lodged in Tihar Jail in New Delhi, are expected to be released on Sunday, October 18, as their five-day judicial custody ends today. The party said the release formalities have been completed and it is awaiting official clearance. Their detention comes amid continuing protests in Delhi over the voter roll revision.
The two leaders were sent to five days of judicial custody earlier this week after allegedly crossing police barricades and entering a restricted area.
CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, detained amid protests against India’s voter roll revisions, may be released Sunday as the Election Commission modifies verification processes following opposition allegations.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, CJP legal head Ratna Singh said the release process had been completed, but some procedural issues were holding things up.
“There are certain procedural reasons causing the delay in their case, but we are fully confident that justice will prevail and they will be out” by Sunday, Singh said.
She defended the two leaders, saying the party had always encouraged people to take part in peaceful demonstrations, whether individually or in groups. She also maintained that Das and Ranka had done nothing wrong.
In a post on X late Saturday, CJP said it had consulted senior advocate Kapil Sibal and would pursue legal action if the two leaders were not released by Sunday. The party claimed they were being unlawfully detained despite not having been charged with an offence.
Opposition to the voter roll revision is no longer confined to India, with demonstrations also taking place in London.
YouTuber Dhruv Rathee shared a video on X showing him addressing a crowd at a protest in Parliament Square on Saturday. The demonstration came a day after student groups held a separate protest outside the Indian High Commission in London on Friday.
According to local media reports, supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi also staged a counter-demonstration at the Friday protest.
More demonstrations are planned in India in the coming days. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a coalition of farmers’ organisations, has called for protests at district and subdistrict levels on October 23.
The opposition Congress has also received police permission to hold a rally in Delhi on November 1, as per PTI reported.
Opposition parties have been questioning the voter roll revision process and demanding an investigation into alleged irregularities.
The Election Commission has rejected allegations of wrongdoing but has made several changes to the voter verification process following criticism.
Last month, the poll body eased some voter verification requirements and extended the deadlines for voters to challenge their exclusion from electoral rolls in Delhi and Maharashtra.
It also formed a panel to examine its voter registration software. The commission agreed to publish minutes of meetings after reports of disagreements within the organisation over the exercise.
The Election Commission has also said that people whose names are missing from the electoral rolls can apply for inclusion through the continuous updating process.
Despite the growing protests, PM Modi has not publicly commented on the latest demonstrations. Senior leaders of his Bharatiya Janata Party, however, have defended the poll body.
The controversy has added another point of confrontation between the ruling BJP and opposition parties, with demands for greater transparency in the voter roll revision process continuing.
The political dispute comes at a time when India’s economy is also facing challenges, including a weakening rupee, foreign investment outflows and rising inflation, even as the country remains one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies.
